Prominent street art prompts citizens to reflect on government’s attempt to “Paper over the Cracks”
Four strips of yellow adhesive tape and a description tag - what do these ordinary objects remind you of? Recently, an event was rolled out on LIHKG Discussion Forum, titled “Paper over the Cracks" which showcased the work of a local artist, Giraffe Leung Lok-hei, which drew massive attention.
The creative concept of the event was built on an old assignment of Leung’s, “If something is something”, which he leveraged to exemplify the government’s effort in concealing their transgressions and wrongdoings. Leung added, “we shouldn’t be blinded by these whitewashing attempts, but question whether society is still normal.” He continued, “even if the government sends people to re-paint the walls and bricks, obscuring protest slogans, it cannot take away the pain that Hong Kong citizens have suffered in past 9 months.”
We went back to three protest battlegrounds with Leung - the intersection of Argyle Street in Mong Kok, the Edinburgh Square pedestrian tunnel in Central and Sheung Tak parking lot in Tseung Kwan O - to create unique art-pieces at these locations while recording onlookers’ responses.
Intersection of Argyle Road and Nathan Road attracted the most attention
Nathan Road in Mong Kok is where many protests often occur, and where the most tear gas canisters ever were fired in Hong Kong. It earned a nickname of “city of dioxins” and it is certainly not hard to find tattered, half-brick-half-cement pavements, burned subway station exits and walls covered with protest graffiti. Leung said, “There are plenty raw materials for artistic creation along Nathan Road.”
He found an old spot where his artwork was once created, but stripped off afterwards. So, he used orange-coloured adhesive tape instead to indicate a second-time creation.
Compared with the walls in Tseung Kwan O and Central, the artworks on pavements seem to attract more attention among bystanders as many halted their steps to appreciate.
A citizen, surnamed Lee said, “I saw it a few days ago but then it disappeared. No doubt, the government wants to whitewash, but some memories just cannot be erased.”
Another citizen, Ms Poon emphasized that, “The whitewashing of protest artwork is happening everywhere in Hong Kong, it involves everyone.” On the next day, Leung was informed by a netizen that the description tag of his artwork was again removed. He acknowledged that the tags were taken down because they make people think and reflect.
Police got involved, checked Leung’s ID and bag
On the same day, while Leung was creating another “Paper on the Cracks” art-piece in Fanling, he was approached by police who took down his ID number and searched his bag. A netizen video-recorded the whole process. Leung found it normal to be intervened by police nowadays, saying, “the police are now defending the government. While art, especially art with a social conscience, is usually in opposition to the established authority.”
Cleaners in Central stripping off his artwork
Central has been a battleground since July last year. Many white-collared workers experienced the assault of tear-gas for the first time last November during the lunch break protest activity, “Lunch with You”. There have been numerous rallies in Edinburgh Square with protest publicity materials displayed all over Edinburgh Square’s pedestrian tunnel. But now, all these have been “whitewashed”.
Purposefully, Leung chose to create an artwork at the entrance of the Edinburgh Square pedestrian tunnel during lunch hour. Amid the hustle and bustle, people rushing past seemed hesitant to stop and take a closer look at the artwork. They also turned down interviews on political issues. Later, a cleaning staff came and removed the yellow adhesive tape.
Leung was not at all annoyed. Instead, he took it as inspiration for new creations.
He said, “this is actually an interesting lesson. I put yellow tape on, someone removes it and I put on new orange tape. When the orange tape is removed, I will replace it with red tape. This process deepens the controversy.” To Leung, the gesture of removing the tape is already “papering over the cracks”.
The truth behind Chow’s and Chan’s death not found - Youngsters will not forget
Young students Chow Tsz-lok and Chan Yin-lam were both found dead in Tseung Kwan O and the causes of their death are yet to be uncovered. Relevant publicity materials have filled the whole Sheung Tak Car Park, embedded in the minds of area residents, who are now accustomed to protest clashes that often occur at Sheung Tak’s major interception. They seemed indifferent to Leung’s work as several middle-agers walked by without paying much attention. A young man, named Matthew stopped and gazed at the artworks, claiming that he has read about it on LIHKG discussion forum.
Matthew said, “there have been many protests ongoing in this neighbourhood over the several many months. These artworks are reminding us not to take these clashes as the norm, as part of our daily routine.”
Another resident Mr. Ngan opined, “The use of mismatched colours to cover up, it’s like something is being purposely concealed but has the opposite effect of drawing attention to it.”
“Paper over the cracks” leads to deeper reflections
Whitewashing is a typical means for the government to maintain stability. By concealing protest graffiti and broken pavement, it looks as if peace and order has been restored in the community. The government’s whitewashing is superficial as shown by the contrasting colours of the new paint. “This piece-meal approach, relying on contingent administrative measures, is a classic bureaucratic mentality of government officials. They will kick the can down the road until an issue comes up and they are pushed to deal with it,” Leung stated.
Although Leung’s artwork received 5,000 positive reviews overnight on the LIHKG platform, it only attracts onlookers’ attention on high-traffic streets in Mong Kok. “One out of a hundred passersby has probably taken a look at my work,” Leung said this is an expected outcome because life in Hong Kong is busy and fast-paced. “Paper over the Cracks” is a successful online campaign as it takes only a second to share a post. However, in real life and back on streets, how many are still willing to spare one precious minute to take a good look at the artwork and reflect?
Source: Apple Daily
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