A digital artwork published on a billboard in Hong Kong has been taken down after it was revealed it had secret references to dissidents that are being tried by the city’s court under the harsh National Security Law (NSL).
US-based artist Patrick Amadon developed the art piece titled ‘No Rioters’ wherein he inserted names of the jailed activists in flashing text that naked human eyes cannot perceive.
It is unclear if the Hong Kong authorities played a part in taking down the artwork or if the spooked department store owner took the action on own. After the piece was taken down, Amadon said he had achieved the objective he had set out when producing the art.
“A few years ago, this art would have been a free and legal expression. For the government to take it down now objectively demonstrates how Hong Kong has changed and completes the art work,” he was quoted as saying by BBC.
The silent compliance of the art world in Hong Kong during “Art Week” is deafening. Money shouldn’t be able to buy absolution.
— Patrick Amadon (@patrickamadon) March 24, 2023
The removal of the digital art comes days after the screening of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” was shelved for ‘technical’ reasons. In popular culture, Chinese President Xi Jinping has often been compared to the cartoon character with memes flooding the internet regarding the same.
Notably, this is not the first instance when artists have used clever outlets to show their support to the dissidents in Hong Kong. Last year, eagle-eyed fans of the popular adult cartoon series ‘Rick and Morty’ spotted a message from the show’s creators that pointed toward the city’s democracy movement that took place in 2020 and showed solidarity with the protesters.
Currently, 47 prominent pro-democracy figures are facing a trial in Hong Kong for alleged ‘subversion’ under the highly-controversial national security law.
The group, which included activists, politicians and community workers have been accused of holding pre-election primaries. The primaries were held to give options to the public, other than the pro-Beijing establishment parties provided.
(With inputs from agencies)
