Artistic or morbid? Giant art project showing black-and-white portraits outside Hong Kong mall sparks internet debate
- Harbour City displays portraits of Hongkongers without masks to mark end of mandate as part of ‘Inside Out’ project created by French artist JR
- Some internet users point out black-and-white colour scheme alludes to death and misfortune in Chinese culture
An art installation outside Hong Kong’s biggest shopping centre showcasing hundreds of black-and-white portraits of residents has sparked heated discussions online, with some internet users saying it resembles displays commemorating victims of mass tragedies.
To mark the end of the city’s three-year Covid-19 mask mandate, Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui invited residents to submit portraits without their face coverings last month as part of the “Inside Out” community art project originally created by French artist JR in 2011.
Almost 500,000 people spanning 149 countries have taken part in the initiative over the past decade, with displays appearing near the Pantheon in Paris and in the streets of Milan.
The enormous collage in Hong Kong featured 450 participants, including celebrities Anthony Wong Chau-sang and Ronald Cheung Chung-kei. Photos were hung on a wall and placed on the walkway outside the shopping centre. Those on the ground are cordoned off so people cannot walk on them.
The project has sparked discussions on social media in the city, as some internet users have associated the black-and-white aspect of the images to death and misfortune. Others said the collage resembled displays in museums commemorating victims of concentration camps and mass shootings.
Black in traditional Chinese culture symbolises death, destruction and sadness, with portraits of the deceased usually shown in black-and-white. The Chinese word for the colour “hei” stands for bad luck and illegality.
Karen Yip Hou-yun, who submitted her portrait, said the public should try to learn more about the aim of the project instead of just focusing on the black-and-white element or superstitious aspects.
“It’s a global project that connects people around the world in different tourist attractions,” said the 43-year-old housewife who has a five-year-old son.
“It’s also very good timing because the mask mandate was lifted allowing us to show our smiles, which are free and contagious and they bring positive energy to other individuals around us.”
Alan Wong Ho-lun, who works in marketing, also took part in the project with his wife and 16-month-old daughter. He said the monochrome pictures could be seen as artistic depending on how people judged them.
“I understand people perceive art very differently,” the 36-year-old said. “We are not superstitious at all and don’t mind how people think. It’s still meaningful because I can capture the moment of my daughter without a mask and share her happiness with the world.”
A spokesman for Harbour City said it hoped the public would be inclusive and respect the participants of the activity.
John Batten, a veteran art critic, said the display could have been produced in a more sensitive manner instead of just putting hundreds of photos on the floor.
“When you put something on the floor, it’s associated with footsteps. It’s a little bit insensitive, because the footpath is a place where you walk,” said Batten, the president of the International Association of Art Critics Hong Kong.
“They could have had pedestals with just one photograph for each like a big foam board.
“Putting it inside the shopping centre next to these luxury shops is pretty awful because this is a commercial space. Hong Kong has historic buildings and nice parks to display. It’s all about the context.”
He added people saw black-and-white photos of the deceased in the cemetery in Hong Kong, and honouring the dead in Chinese culture was a nice cultural practice.
“And so the display is actually reminiscent of the examples of death. And under the current atmosphere in Hong Kong, people are cynical and they are questioning,” he said.
