I teamed up with the Free Hong Kong exhibition group after attending their event in Berlin. Noticing the similarities between the pro-democracy Hong Kong movement and Ukraine's EuroMaidan revolution, we came together to produce a powerful collaborative exhibition in Kyiv's Kurenivka Palace of Culture.
However, 2 days before the event opened, a letter from the Chinese embassy arrived at the gallery, warning us not to go ahead with the exhibition under the guise that this was none of our business and we were meddling in Chinese affairs. But we went ahead with it anyway, refusing to be unlawfully intimidated. Fortunately the show was a success and the letter actually ended up attracting people instead of deterring! Over the week we had panel discussions and lectures, with guests including Citizens' Press Conference, Arthur from Free Hong Kong Centre, Nastya Stanko and Azad Safarov. We covered a range of topics including the history of Hong Kong, the fraternal relationship towards Ukraine that has grown in Hong Kong, and the abuse of journalists during the Maidan and the pro-democracy protests. The exhibition was a reflection on Hong Kong's ongoing political crisis and provided a platform for the protestors to share their feelings, emotions and thoughts. The exhibition will continue to tour throughout Europe, so watch this space. Exhibition ran from 11-17th January. Follow the group here for more events https://web.facebook.com/freeHKexhibition/ Dissatisfied with the lack of in-depth coverage from foreign media outlets on the Hong Kong protests, a young artist created an exhibition giving an authentic voice to the local people demonstrating on the city’s streets. Like most Hong Kong natives at this moment, the artist, using the alias Hong Kong Stranger to protect his identity, wanted to do something to help the movement. Being based in Europe and having a creative background gave him the opportunity to deliver the message correctly to citizens abroad, constructing a direct dialogue as well as informing. Certainly the exhibition succeeds on those fronts; the key moments from the protests are displayed on activist-style placards: from the very beginning back in February 2018 to the present day, as well as the 5 demands from the people, calling for a complete end to the extradition bill and release of all prisoners. The information is very clearly laid out whilst at the back of the exhibition, brutal footage is projected onto the wall, the sounds of screams, shouts and tear gas canisters popping echo throughout the room. What many people outside of Hong Kong may not realise is the fact that many lives have been lost, mainly by suicide. Officially the count is 9, however Hong Kong Stranger believes that number to be much higher, telling me that it is likely some of the missing people have been murdered, or even that deaths officially ruled as suicide or accidental are in actuality cover ups. He goes on to point out that this doesn’t just concern his homeland, it concerns the whole world: Hong Kong is currently on the frontline of the Cold War between America and China. Trapped between two of the worlds most powerful forces, no one has a clue how this is going to end.
Article originally published by Veridi News For 5 days, a bright red barge was moored in Granary Square, Kings Cross, displaying the work of 6 young illustrators. I used the opportunity to display a variety of paintings and drawings from the past three years, encompassing landscapes, portraits and scenes from films; something a little different from my usual, political route. It was a fantastic chance to show my work in Central London, which would otherwise have cost an unfeasibly disgusting amount for a young artist. So if you are looking for a floatable, alternative and affordable space to put on an exhibition, performance or even a cinema screening check out:
https://fiodra.co.uk/ Last night was the opening of the much anticipated political group show 'The Great Divide', curated by New York artist Tommy Watkins at Oxford's OVADA Gallery. We had spent the past week converting the large warehouse into Tommy's vision of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, complete with burnt out houses. To see it come to life and filled with an audience of around 300 strong people, all amazed at the world they had unexpectedly stepped into, was a truly great feeling.
The show features work from 60 different artists from across the world, drawing attention to the current divisive issues affecting us; sexism, racism, consumerism, austerity, the War on Terror, Brexit, Trump, Putin and Kim Jong Un ware all targets. It's a vast array of artwork, with everything from textiles, sculptures, painting, illustration and even animation. The evening was a fantastic gathering of like-minded people coming together to talk about the shit-storm we still seem to be stuck in. To help everyone get through the depression, local hip-hop group, Inner Peace Records, soothed the crowd with some smooth tunes and conscious rap, whilst outside there was some live graffiti demos. There will be two more events at the exhibition, including a performance art evening on the 6th October and a Film Night and Artists Talk on the 26th October. You can follow everything on the OVADA website- http://www.ovada.org.uk/events/ |
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