Graffiti disciples

Graffiti gained popularity in the West, but its charm has found its way to every corner of the world. In the Chinese communities in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan there are disciples devoted to the art. They brave the risk of prosecution to pursue what they enjoy. Is their graffiti just random expression of discontent or a desperate scream from within? Whether you approve of it or not, have you paid attention to what they have to say? A 59-year-old Beijing resident became friends with graffiti writers using his camera. He is probably the only one in his generation in Beijing who understands them best. A young student makes his voice against demolition of old Beijing heard by doing posters in the neighbourhoods that have been reduced to rubble. A Taiwanese youth tried to quit graffiti to please his family but failed in the end. Another Taiwanese student spends his youth doing graffiti with the traditional Chinese ink brush. A crew in Hong Kong has been roaming the streets of the city repeating the same graffiti message that one can start from zero in anything. Another Hong Kong graffiti writer compares graffiti to advertisement. He feels that at least graffiti does not keep people up with light pollution like advertising signs do. This episode interviews graffiti writers in Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong to see how they have managed to overcome the odds in pursuing a non-mainstream interest in the conservative Chinese communities.
hku lib logo
Contact us 

Copyright © 2024 The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.