Pictures on Walls: A Look at the Street Art and Graffiti Scene in Hong Kong

As China's art sector continues to grow, street art and graffiti has followed. We explored the city during its second edition of Art Basel Hong Kong.

May 28, 2014
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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Written by Holly Howe (@Hollytorious)

Hong Kong is a-changing. I lived there briefly five years ago, and from an arts perspective, it has changed rapidly, yet more organically than places like Abu Dhabi, where galleries have seemingly being dumped there en masse. 

With numerous new galleries now open on Hong Kong island, it was only a matter of time for graffiti to hit the streets. It was, of course, always there, but the pieces were far more discrete and hidden away. Now, many of the streets and alleyways that lead off Hollywood Road (a long road filled with galleries and antique shops at its western end) have had their walls decorated by a mix of local artists and visiting ones. 

Here is a selection of some of the works, which includes works by Pure Evil, who visited Hong Kong in April, and D*Face, who currently has an exhibition at Above Second Gallery, which runs until July 6.

RELATED: Highlights From Art Basel Hong Kong 2014

Pictures on Walls: A Look at the Graffiti Scene in Hong Kong 

Bibo

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Image via Complex Original

Bibo is a new French restaurant which opened on Hollywood Road in April and has a mixture of street art and general contemporary art inside its doors. Some of the works were already owned by Bibo (who desires to portray himself as a Banksy-type figure by not revealing his identity…hmmm), some were loaned, and many have been commissioned for the restaurant itself. 

These include works by Pure Evil (which explains why he was in Hong Kong last month), who gave Complex the lowdown on the graffiti scene in the city: “Hong Kong buffed out most of the pieces that Invader dropped on his last visit, which is a major bummer. Buying decent spray paint out there is a mission, too. Both point to the fact that Hong Kong doesn't quite feel the love for street art and graffiti that's felt in cities like New York and London, but getting out there and getting work up feels great; it's such a wild city. Street art seems to be the herald of gentrification, with so many urban estate agents using images of it to show that an area is 'hip' and 'upcoming.' I predict that this, and the viral nature of street art, means Hong Kong will be waking up to a lot more brightly colored art on its walls soon. Watch this Island!”

Invader

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Image via Complex Original

The Invader pieces referenced by Pure Evil were a set of 48 pieces, scattered around the island in February. The authorities moved quickly to remove the majority of them, much to the disappointment of street art fans and Invader himself. Hong Kong resident Alison Tam, founder of Pretty Dangerous, an online jewelry shop, managed to photograph a number of them before they were removed. 

She told Complex: “I would say the culture in HK is still quite anti-graffiti. The population is still relatively conservative. Despite all the press about contemporary Chinese artists, the general population doesn't have a culture of decorating their homes with traditional art, so it will be quite a while until they understand street art. On the other hand, I definitely feel there are more outlets for street art and a growing population that appreciates it.”

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