A massive representation of a female protester wearing a hard hat and gas mask looks out from a rocky perch at a city in turmoil. The statue, known as Lady Liberty Hong Kong, was hoisted atop Lion Rock during pro-democracy protests in 2019. This was supposed to be his final resting place. But now only photographs remain of this intention. The statue was destroyed by unidentified assailants the day after it was lifted to the top, a landmark said to represent the resilient spirit of Hong Kongers.
The photograph of Lady Liberty’s short installation is one of several Hong Kong-related images to be displayed at the Forbidden Art exhibition, which opens in Brussels on Monday. The event, staged outside the EU parliament building, aims to present “an impassioned defense of artistic freedom as a fundamental human right”.
Many of the featured artists no longer feel safe working in Hong Kong. “The government wants to silence us all,” says Lumli, one half of the artist duo Lumli Lumlong, which she founded with her husband Lumlong. The couple left Hong Kong in 2021, fearing for their safety. Lumlong adds: “We worry that Hong Kong culture will disappear, but on the other hand, this culture may re-emerge all over the world.”
Organized by Hong Kong-born artist Loretta Lau and Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt, who created the Pillar of Shame sculpture that was removed from the University of Hong Kong in 2021, the exhibition comes at a time when Hong Kong is trying to maintain its global status. The arts center is also grappling with an exodus of artists and growing calls for international arts institutions to boycott the Beijing-controlled territory.
Relating to: A shout in memory of Tiananmen Square victims has been removed from the University of Hong Kong
‘I feel sorry for the artists left behind’
In September, Eric Wear, former president of the Hong Kong chapter of the International Art Critics Circle, published an open letter urging galleries to boycott Art Basel’s 2024 Hong Kong art fair, which opens on March 28. “Censorship should be rare, its measures controversial, and never used to support oppressive governments or erase collective memory,” Wear wrote. “Unfortunately, this is not the current situation in Hong Kong.”
The explicit and implicit boundaries of artistic expression are becoming increasingly clear. After months of pro-democracy protests, Beijing in 2020 enacted a national security law that broadly criminalizes separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. Chinese officials say it is necessary to restore stability; Critics say the vague wording crushes dissent. Recently, authorities have increasingly spoken of the need to combat “soft resistance,” a vague term that refers to the use of “media, culture and art” to challenge authorities.
All of this has led to artistic venues making opaque or complicated decisions. In January, the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture canceled its lease with performing arts troupe Fire Makes Us Human due to complaints from its education bureau citing national security concerns. The following month, visual culture museum M+ removed the name of “Beijing Bastards,” a famous film about China’s disillusioned youth, from its credits. brochures of a scan. Announcing the decision, an M+ spokesperson said: “Regarding the film in question, the title of the film has been updated by filmmaker Zhang Yuan and the M+ curator team.”
“I feel sorry for the artists who stayed in Hong Kong,” says artist Kacey Wong, who went to Taiwan in 2021. “Their minds must be spinning so fast. They’re censoring themselves.”
Wong predicts more artists will leave after the new national security law, known as Article 23, comes into force later this year. The draft text foresees life imprisonment for some crimes, including rebellion and treason. A Chinese government spokesman said Article 23 was necessary for “lasting stability and security in Hong Kong” and that the legislation was “legitimate, legal and unblemished”.
An emerging market
With many of Hong Kong’s most outspoken artists either exiled or silenced, business institutions are at the center of a debate about the future of the city’s creative industries.
The government says Hong Kong still has a “vibrant arts and culture community”, citing its share of the global art market as evidence. According to the Art Basel and UBS art market report, the market share of China and Hong Kong in 2023 increased to 19%, becoming the second largest art market after the USA.
“Hong Kong still has huge advantages over other markets in the region,” says Wear. “The biggest advantage is probably tax and generally an environment that makes the movement of goods very seamless.” The result, Wear says, is that arts institutions “both accept the restrictions in Hong Kong and are probably increasingly [are] The Party has the right to export these restrictions to other markets.”
A spokesperson for Art Basel said the fair “has never encountered an issue of censorship at our shows, and we have not been asked to do anything differently since the national security law went into effect.”
“The Hong Kong art scene has grown exponentially since our arrival in 2013… and our exhibition has become a focal point of the city’s art community.”
Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 received HK$15 million ($1.9 million) in funding from the government’s mega arts and cultural events fund managed by the culture, sports and tourism bureau. Government funding agreements now routinely include a clause on national security.
An Art Basel spokesperson said: “Our company always complies with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which we operate.”
The comments echo those made by Henry Tang, president of the West Kowloon Cultural District, a cultural hub, when the flagship M+ gallery opened in 2021: “The opening of M+ does not mean that artistic expression is above the law. It’s not that.”
Today, the museum is unveiling its collection, which consists of the Perspective Study series, in which Ai Weiwei holds his middle finger towards various landmarks. However, while many photographs in the series are advertised online, the Tiananmen Square print, in which Beijing’s central square has been altered by the dissident artist, is listed only for a gray square with the M+ logo. A museum spokesman said: “M+ handles curatorial matters professionally and independently. “All its contents fully comply with Hong Kong laws and regulations while maintaining the highest level of professional and artistic integrity.”
Defenders of Hong Kong’s art scene point to the fact that art sells, even in the more restrictive environment of mainland China. Political freedom may not be necessary to keep the city’s arts industry afloat, even in a neutered form. But “people need to be able to think about their environment,” Wear says. “Once you start limiting that, you lose something. “You lose some of the dynamism of the society, you lose the ability to be self-critical as a society… all of this undermines the capacity of a society to develop.”