“Where are you from?”
“Hong Kong.”
(look confused) “Hong Kong? Oh, it’s in China.”
“Politically yes, but we are different from China. We speak different languages. We write different languages. We use different currencies. We use different passports and identity cards. We have different legislative, administrative and juridical systems. Capitalism is practiced in Hong Kong, but communism is practiced in China,”
“human rights are deprived and free will is restrained in China, that are what we are now fighting for in Hong Kong in the past few months.”
“What is happening in Hong Kong?”
“Hong Kong protesters are now fighting against the legislation of an extradition bill, which is trying to legalize the transfers of criminal suspects for Taiwan, Mainland China and Macau, where existing laws have not been covered.”
“Though HK government tried to set a doorstep for extraditing suspect who may be sentenced to prison for at least seven years, and setting a time limit on the date of offences, it still received massive criticism locally and internationally from legal profession, journalists, business companies and foreign governments. People are afraid of being accused by the Chinese government for spreading rumours that were unfavourable to them since this could be sentenced to Chinese prisons for at least seven years.”
“How did the protest relate to the ‘Departure Lounge’?”
“I participated several protests since June 2019. I left my country and carried all these emotions, beliefs, and vision with me to study here in London. Besides, early in the application stage of my study in March 2019, I proposed my research topic to be ‘Identity of Hong Kong people’. The ‘Departure Lounge’ seemed to be a perfect occasion to start my research.”
“You have turned upside down the sofa, called the whole thing ‘A Protest Scene’. Most people knew what a protest scene might look like. Why did you not show us the sequence of incidences or make your statement to the government, Why did you insist to install the area with these objects?”
“There were several brilliant artists made extraordinary installation, e.g. Gregor Schneider, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. Ilya believed that what he called ‘total installation’ could enhance audience understanding and could enrich their feelings.1”
“In the protest, Hong Kong Police always tried to shoot lethally at protesters. Protesters and news reporters were protecting themselves with armours and hamlets. They made barricades with all the suitable things they found nearby. Nevertheless, HK Police shot numerous tear gas rounds to the public. The odour and the burning trace were mimicked in this installation as well.”
“That is horrible and terrifying! Was anyone injured seriously or even dead in the protest?”
Odour and burning trace were mimicked.
In memory of the first martyr.
“At this moment there is no evidence about serious casualty caused by HK Police. However, several martyrs have committed suicide. The first one was ‘raincoat man’.”
1. Akbar, Arifa. “From totalitarianism, to total installation.” The Independent, (London), March 27, 2013, accessed January 13, 2020, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/from-totalitarianism-to-total-installation-8550568.html
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