Reinterpreting the journeys of the displaced through art
Voices of the displaced are usually hidden as they drift in limbo, becoming seemingly insignificant and buried among the crowd. Yet, the walls around us can serve as a great city canvas to tell their stories. As refugees share their stories through art, we honour the courage that have taken them this far, their journey in finding community, and the hope that they carry for their future.
Through refugee artists and by mapping local artists with storytellers, their journeys will be reinterpreted through mural arts across Hong Kong districts and showcased to the community this June and July. Stay tuned for more details!
Date: June to July
Districts:
- 5 St. Francis Street
- Queen’s Road East
- The Vine Church
- Viva Blue House
- Chung King Mansions
- Eaton HK
Collaborating Artists
Law Ho Kwong, Bo
@imbolaw
Born in Hong Kong, Hong Kong‐based illustrator. Engaged in illustration and mural painting.
Bo is always inspired by the living environment around him and subsequently, the subject of his paintings often features and focuses on projecting the cityscape of Hong Kong.
Clients include: HKMOA, HSBC , Hang Seng bank, DBS, Shake Shack, Pocari Sweat, Sino Group, Labconcept and more.
Erin Hung
@erinhung_studio
An artist, muralist and writer. Her work centres around the voices of the marginalised, the oppressed and often invisible. She passionately works to platform the stories of the displaced through art and writing, believing that story-telling is inextricably linked to growing empathy in community, and expanding our own circles of comfort. Through a decade of exploring trauma and addiction, she is a firm believer of fostering renewed culture through hope, and is an advocate for mental health awareness and diversity through her commercial, editorial and public art.
She holds a BA Fine Art from Byam Shaw School of Art at Central Saint Martins, as well as an MA in Contemporary Art from Sotheby’s Institute. Her notable clients include Chronicle Books, Liberty of London, American Greetings, Urban Outfitters, and more. Follow her @erinhung_studio
Francesco Lietti
@francescolietti
has been living in Hong Kong since early 2006 and his love of this vibrant, eclectic city is immediately apparent in his works, which derives from the mnemonic imagery of the artist, who lives in symbiosis with the themes of travel and discovery.
When first visiting Hong Kong in the summer of 2005, the painter experienced an overwhelming sensation: fascinated by the variety of colors, the rich smells, and the plethora of images he was drawn to return and stay. This exciting metropolis is something you cannot just put into a frame: something would spill out; something would be missing; one can catch the details, but he or she would never be able to capture the entire picture. The artist portrays this through simple and direct forms. He paints naïve visions that often have a humorous quality, describing the city in an almost caricatured magnificence. Through the use of striking colors the painter captures the essence of Hong Kong’s famous harbor skyline and makes it his own. His paintings hover between reality and fantasy. Using strong blocks of paint to represent the buildings, Lietti also includes smaller patches of textured color, which dance across the cityscape, giving it that dream-like, ephemeral quality. The artist works in acrylic and oils on canvas and also adds collage to give his paintings texture and depth. He then finishes his pieces with a thick, glossy resin, further enhancing the brightness of the colors.
Lietti also captures the colors and delights of other Asian destinations. The lush greens of Vietnam and Bali, the golden sunsets of Rajasthan, the deep blue seascapes of the Philippines, these are just some of the many places he has visited and experienced. The artist gives us rare glimpses, merging reality with a magical world.
Francesco Lietti was born in Lecco on the southern shore of Lake Como in Italy. He studied architecture in Milan and furthered his studies in Paris at the École des Beaux Arts, La Seine, and also at the Clerkenwell College of Printing in London. His works are featured in private collections worldwide. When not painting in his studio, Francesco is probably riding his motorbike on the Hong Kong hills trying to catch a new view or travelling across Asia in search of inspiration.
Kristopher Ho
@kristopherh
Hong Kong based artist and illustrator. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Blackpool, UK. Graduated from Graphic design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, specialised in illustration. Started his career as an independent artist in Hong Kong since 2012, and has been working across both independent and commercial platforms. Since 2015 he has been especially active within the Street art community and has been participating in various street art festivals such POWWOW, BSAF and HKWALLS. Well known for his monochromatic and highly intricate murals and illustrations. His work has been described as both being impactful with his strokes yet also filled with intricate details. Markers has mainly been his tool of choice for both his murals and illustrations. Work exhibited across the world, includes United Kingdom, Italy, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Australia and etc.
Taka
@ta_x_ka
I am a Japanese artist currently based in Hong Kong.
I am the Hong Kong winner of the Vans Asia Custom Culture competition 2017 and one of the finalists in Asia. Also, I am one of the finalists of Secret Walls x Hong Kong series 4.
I have painted for multiple high-profile international street art festivals, including: HKwalls in Hong Kong, Meeting of Styles in Manila, and the United Kingdom’s Upfest in Bristol, Europe’s largest street art festival.
Tony Cheng
@tonychengartist
A British-born contemporary artist, based in Hong Kong, who spend most of his early life in the pursuit in the creation of visual Art. His interest began at the age of four, studying with a local Hong Kong artist after preschool where he was known to have a strong attention to detail and colours.
After High School, he decided to devote his study in Art and attended Selby Collage in full-time Art and Design and later in Fine Art in Leeds Metropolitan University.
In the last decade after moving to Hong Kong, his work is primarily based on painting, drawing and printmaking. His work is considered to be classical contemporary by his supporter and collector of his use of traditional subjects in his unique composition.
Collaborating Artists
Law Ho Kwong, Bo
Born in Hong Kong, Hong Kong‐based illustrator. Engaged in illustration and mural painting.
Bo is always inspired by the living environment around him and subsequently, the subject of his paintings often features and focuses on projecting the cityscape of Hong Kong.
Clients include: HKMOA, HSBC , Hang Seng bank, DBS, Shake Shack, Pocari Sweat, Sino Group, Labconcept and more.
Erin Hung
An artist, muralist and writer. Her work centres around the voices of the marginalised, the oppressed and often invisible. She passionately works to platform the stories of the displaced through art and writing, believing that story-telling is inextricably linked to growing empathy in community, and expanding our own circles of comfort. Through a decade of exploring trauma and addiction, she is a firm believer of fostering renewed culture through hope, and is an advocate for mental health awareness and diversity through her commercial, editorial and public art.
She holds a BA Fine Art from Byam Shaw School of Art at Central Saint Martins, as well as an MA in Contemporary Art from Sotheby’s Institute. Her notable clients include Chronicle Books, Liberty of London, American Greetings, Urban Outfitters, and more. Follow her @erinhung_studio
Francesco Lietti
has been living in Hong Kong since early 2006 and his love of this vibrant, eclectic city is immediately apparent in his works, which derives from the mnemonic imagery of the artist, who lives in symbiosis with the themes of travel and discovery.
When first visiting Hong Kong in the summer of 2005, the painter experienced an overwhelming sensation: fascinated by the variety of colors, the rich smells, and the plethora of images he was drawn to return and stay. This exciting metropolis is something you cannot just put into a frame: something would spill out; something would be missing; one can catch the details, but he or she would never be able to capture the entire picture. The artist portrays this through simple and direct forms. He paints naïve visions that often have a humorous quality, describing the city in an almost caricatured magnificence. Through the use of striking colors the painter captures the essence of Hong Kong’s famous harbor skyline and makes it his own. His paintings hover between reality and fantasy. Using strong blocks of paint to represent the buildings, Lietti also includes smaller patches of textured color, which dance across the cityscape, giving it that dream-like, ephemeral quality. The artist works in acrylic and oils on canvas and also adds collage to give his paintings texture and depth. He then finishes his pieces with a thick, glossy resin, further enhancing the brightness of the colors.
Lietti also captures the colors and delights of other Asian destinations. The lush greens of Vietnam and Bali, the golden sunsets of Rajasthan, the deep blue seascapes of the Philippines, these are just some of the many places he has visited and experienced. The artist gives us rare glimpses, merging reality with a magical world.
Francesco Lietti was born in Lecco on the southern shore of Lake Como in Italy. He studied architecture in Milan and furthered his studies in Paris at the École des Beaux Arts, La Seine, and also at the Clerkenwell College of Printing in London. His works are featured in private collections worldwide. When not painting in his studio, Francesco is probably riding his motorbike on the Hong Kong hills trying to catch a new view or travelling across Asia in search of inspiration.
Kristopher Ho
Hong Kong based artist and illustrator. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Blackpool, UK. Graduated from Graphic design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, specialised in illustration. Started his career as an independent artist in Hong Kong since 2012, and has been working across both independent and commercial platforms. Since 2015 he has been especially active within the Street art community and has been participating in various street art festivals such POWWOW, BSAF and HKWALLS. Well known for his monochromatic and highly intricate murals and illustrations. His work has been described as both being impactful with his strokes yet also filled with intricate details. Markers has mainly been his tool of choice for both his murals and illustrations. Work exhibited across the world, includes United Kingdom, Italy, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Australia and etc.
Taka
I am a Japanese artist currently based in Hong Kong.
I am the Hong Kong winner of the Vans Asia Custom Culture competition 2017 and one of the finalists in Asia. Also, I am one of the finalists of Secret Walls x Hong Kong series 4.
I have painted for multiple high-profile international street art festivals, including: HKwalls in Hong Kong, Meeting of Styles in Manila, and the United Kingdom’s Upfest in Bristol, Europe’s largest street art festival.
Tony Cheng
A British-born contemporary artist, based in Hong Kong, who spend most of his early life in the pursuit in the creation of visual Art. His interest began at the age of four, studying with a local Hong Kong artist after preschool where he was known to have a strong attention to detail and colours.
After High School, he decided to devote his study in Art and attended Selby Collage in full-time Art and Design and later in Fine Art in Leeds Metropolitan University.
In the last decade after moving to Hong Kong, his work is primarily based on painting, drawing and printmaking. His work is considered to be classical contemporary by his supporter and collector of his use of traditional subjects in his unique composition.
Artwork Details
In speaking with Basem*, he suggested that we met over curry at Chungking Mansions. He seemed to light up when he talked about cooking and the sharing of food. This inspired me to consider how different cuisines are parallel to how we perceive people of other nations. It can sometimes feel threatening (like how I expressed that I didn’t like my food too spicy) and requires an open mind to try and take a taste. In further exploring this analogy, I named it the Table illustration because we gather around it for food, having a seat at the table means being equal, *To protect the personal privacy of the refugee, pseudonym is used.
There are a few concept I want to put in my creation. An abstract human face. This is no one that just to represent and metaphor of a life. Kigali Skylines. I added 2 landmarks of Kigali which are Kigali City Tower and Kigali Convention center. Cassava plant. Rwanda is called The land of thousand hills, this patterns to represent that. Sun as the Rwandan flag has it. Imigongo patterns. Cow horns. Rose as it is a national flower of Rwanda. The lines represents connections. She explained people help and care each other so wanted to express that in abstract way. Remarks: The name of art “Ndi” means “I am” in Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda.
The idea is to depict an iconic skyline of Hong Kong, while embedding elements of the story we heard : the plane to come to HK, the Chungking Mansions, where many refugees reside. The mural will feature the Nathan Road Mosque, plus a Church and a Temple, to indicate how this city allows different cultures to closely and harmoniously live together, freely expressing their religious beliefs. Some of the buildings and the sky will have patterns making reference to the traditional Pakistani patterns we studied. Color scheme of the mural will take inspiration from the beautiful dish we tasted together, the chicken biryani, with its warm color palette of creams, yellows, oranges, pinks and greens. We may also try to include some catch words like: As Salamu Alaykum or Salam Alaykum, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Multi Culture, Seeking, Safty, A Home, Limbo.
I want to draw a painting of houses, and I like colors, and that is why I want to combine the two things together. Houses in Hong Kong are so different from those in my homeland. Neighbourhoods are different. In Hong Kong, people are scattered and distanced, and I am scared. In my homeland, people share food and open doors but it is different in Hong Kong. Here is a much bigger city than my motherland, but people don’t listen to each other. I want people to know this is how I see houses, people should be more connected and listening to others, at the same time it is safe to be colorful with every house having different colors. Another thing I like is the sky. It looks more or less the same, watching from different corners. Among all the times in the day, I like the sky at night the most. I like the galaxy and stars at night. I find seeing stars blink in the galaxy very peaceful. The night I see in Hong Kong is as beautiful as I saw it in the past back in my homeland. I wish people can see us the same no matter where we are and who we are, just like we are seeing the sky.
When we encounter something new, we can first observe what is unique and what information it provides to understand its essence. We accumulate experiences bit by bit, creating a unique impression of that thing in our minds. Davido* faced discrimination due to his homosexuality since childhood, which prevented him from having the opportunity to establish relationships. In reality, he is just like you and me. This piece is the image of Davido in my mind. Through this experience, I hope that one day he will no longer feel like a caged bird. *To protect the personal privacy of the refugee, pseudonym is used.
he mural focuses on the idea of breaking away from the past trauma and the courage to move forward. Since we are working with the Asian United Cricket Club, the mural is divided into two layers. Tiger was chosen as the metaphor of the subject, echoing the idea of power and courage to break away from the past, as well as the power required when bowling. The bowling hand is seen being restrained, yet they are being broken as the action takes place, reiterate the theme.