HONG KONG — An American artist says the removal of his covert tribute to local dissidents from the side of a department store in Hong Kong illustrates the shrinking space for free expression in the Chinese territory.
The digital artwork “No Rioters,” by Los Angeles-based artist Patrick Amadon, makes covert references to jailed pro-democracy protesters. It was one of several pieces to appear on a billboard outside the Sogo department store in the popular Causeway Bay shopping district during Hong Kong Art Week, but was removed this week after the deception was revealed.
The red-and-black video installation flashes the names and prison sentences of convicted protesters, including prominent figures such as former law professor Benny Tai, in text that couldn’t be seen by the naked eye.
Hong Kong, a former British colony that was promised 50 years of continued rights and freedoms when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, was roiled by months of antigovernment protests in 2019 that sometimes turned violent. Beijing responded the following year by imposing a sweeping national security law that it said was necessary to restore stability.
Critics say authorities have used the law to crack down on civil liberties, and that it has also encouraged self-censorship. Earlier this week, local screenings of a British horror film featuring Winnie the Pooh, a character whose lighthearted association with Chinese President Xi Jinping mainland authorities have tried to suppress, were canceled without explanation.
The artwork’s removal also comes as Hong Kong tries to revive its international reputation with events like Art Week, which is headlined by Art Central and the Asia edition of Art Basel.
Amadon said he had paid close attention to the 2019 protests, and that he was commenting on the movement as well as Art Week and “the willful blindness of a lot of the world.”
“I wanted to honor the protesters,” he told NBC News in an interview. “I wanted to show solidarity…
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