South HO Siu Nam

Work naming has not yet succeeded
2020 – present

The freedom of Hong Kong is facing gradual extinction.

In 2019,    the  “Anti-extradition law movement” began due to opposition to the government’s amendment of the legislation, triggering continuous protests for six months. After half a year, the social movement has been relatively calmed down due to the COVID situation, which in turn brought about a series of suppressive actions enacted by the government. After the National Security Law came into effect on 1st July 2020, the freedoms and liberties that Hong Kong had always enjoyed disappeared overnight, as most of the rallying cries and slogans became illegal.

Slogans and words that have engulfed every corner of the city, representing the calls and cries of the people, have now been entirely painted over, in a deliberate attempt to whitewash. On the other hand, due to various factors, some phrases seem to defy their erasure, materializing subtly under the layers of paint. These obscure words, found in various corners, become part of a peculiar cityscape.

I observe this uncanny phenomenon in which the superimposition of paint over protest slogans create abstract color blocks, mirroring the struggle between the people and the government, and the zeitgeist of the city. 

Photographing these faded slogans in the cityscape, I observe that though they are visually withdrawn, their messages are strong as ever. They have just temporarily taken another form, while the people’s freedom of speech is under serious attack. Apart from documenting the remnants of the protest and its effects on the city, this series of images brings out the fact that despite the oppression of Hong Kong’s democracy and freedom of speech, its citizens maintain their perseverance, and persist in hope for freedom.