Building on a critical gendered approach at the intersection of arts, women, and homelessness, th... more Building on a critical gendered approach at the intersection of arts, women, and homelessness, this article calls attention to the structured layers of (in)visibilities of female agency, existence, and resilience. The arts have a special place and importance in civil society formation in relation to homelessness in Japanese cities today, so the aim is to elucidate the significant but understudied role of women in enhancing varied forms of resilience in the urban environment. Arts, activism, and, in particular, art activism on socio-political issues in Asian cities are typically perceived as methods of resistance against local and national governments, whereas their crucial contribution to urban resilience often remains unrecognized. By investigating the emergent forms of interdisciplinary arts in Tokyo and Osaka that are aimed at sustainability in less-privileged living conditions, this article contributes to the growing field of studies acknowledging how these circumstances are brought about not only by economic ruptures but also by gendered socio-structural and cultural factors. By recognizing the intricate parameters of the varied artistic practices, a more nuanced understanding of the gendered urban resilience in maintaining communities, neighborhoods, and cities can be gained.
KEYWORDS: Arts, homelessness, female agency, urban resilience, Japan
Socially Engaged Public Art in East Asia: Space, Place, and Community in Action, 2022
This chapter examines the forms and potentialities of multilayered female agency and engagement w... more This chapter examines the forms and potentialities of multilayered female agency and engagement with the urban through street art and murals by JunkHouse (Seoul), Bao Ho (Hong Kong) and Sasu (Tokyo). While intricate questions on both feminisms and (self-)representations of women in visual have gained growing attention, a more nuanced understanding of their impact and roles in public art and the socio-cultural norms of public space are becoming ever more pertinent. Even though contemporary graffiti is mainly seen as the domain of masculinity, the diversified manifestations of street art and muralism are more accepting for female participation worldwide. Through gendered analysis that pays attention on how female agency and feminine aesthetics are interrelated for renegotiating the use of urban public spaces, publicness as an intricate processes in arts, and existing spatio-aesthetic dynamics, the chapter demonstrates how street art and murals have provided unseen possibilities for women to make their presence and visions known in and for cities. I posit that even if feminine signifiers or feminist aspirations might not be a dominating strategy in these translocal artistic practices amidst the contested urban environment, women protagonists, such as JunkHouse, Bao Ho and Sasu, are not only providing alternative readings on gendered publicness of spaces but also contributing towards new ways of understanding women’s right to the cities.
Taking ‘underground(s)’ as the conceptual point of departure, the authors in this Special Issue i... more Taking ‘underground(s)’ as the conceptual point of departure, the authors in this Special Issue investigate the socio-political, cultural and ideological dynamics of ‘cultural undergrounds’ across cities in East and Southeast Asia. Through critical analysis of changing conditions, frameworks, (mis)representations and self- and counter-definitions, we seek to build towards a timely interdisciplinary discourse. Can ‘underground(s)’ survive, given that they are surrounded by an instrumentalization and institutionalization of arts and culture, by policing and surveillance, (self-)censorship, and a growing privatization and aestheticization of the urban environment? What kind of symbolic, political and societal value do ‘underground(s)’ have in such circumstances? Why would someone prefer to be considered as a representative of the undergrounds? While addressing these emergent questions, we acknowledge the theoretical and methodological challenges of fluid phenomena characterized by a vast range of cultural production. Hence, we share the aspiration to encourage further locally-embedded comparative and interdisciplinary research that contributes to more nuanced international discussions about cultural undergrounds. Drawing from our in-depth case studies on films and documentaries, music, literature, contemporary art and their interconnectedness, we highlight the importance of socio-historical interrelations, gender, queer identities, aesthetic strategies, translocality, intermedia practices, (a)political self-positioning and spatial adjustments in the urban environment.
Forces of Art: Perspectives from a Changing World, 2020
Amid growing interests in the arts and their possible societal impact in the twenty-first century... more Amid growing interests in the arts and their possible societal impact in the twenty-first century, notions of empowerment, community building, and reinvigoration of villages and urban neighbourhoods are acknowledged across cultural policies, art studies, and redevelopment plans. Such growing attention to the arts and their life-changing potentiality has led to further instrumentalization of artistic practices. This may cause interdependences with financial agencies, and adds urgency to questions of the societal role, autonomy, inclusiveness, and sustainability of arts. A discussion of arts, cultural, and creative ecosystems has also recently emerged in Indonesia to address these challenges. Koalisi Seni Indonesia and ruangrupa are two recognized initiators for public acknowledgment of multidisciplinary art(s) ecosystem(s). By positioning the two actors in a broader socio-political and cultural context, the aim of this study is to delineate the main concerns, aspirations, and contingencies related to art(s) ecosystem(s). Through a comparative approach including not only insights by local representatives but also emerging discourses in the region and beyond, I seek to facilitate lateral thinking and further envisionings of more nuanced understandings of ‘balanced art(s) ecosystem(s)’ and how this can contribute towards the regeneration of ‘cultural resilience.’ The major objective of this paper is to enable innovative perceptions and help the planning of future theoretical and practical approaches.
The socio-political transformations of East and Southeast Asia, their direct impact on the changi... more The socio-political transformations of East and Southeast Asia, their direct impact on the changing norms of censorship, cultural and urban policies, and on growing surveillance have led people involved with the socially engaged artistic and creative practices to develop varied tactics and strategies to renegotiate the (im)material boundaries set for them. These mainly discursive, spatial, temporal and aesthetic forms of affective civic engagement aim to disseminate alternative envisionings without necessarily having a directly antagonistic agenda towards the establishment. Inspired by the recent discourses of affect and its potentiality not only in arts but more broadly in temporary, human/nonhuman encounters, and also in the urban environment, I propose that this kind of liminal and fluid self-positioning between ‘underground(s)’ and mainstream could be better understood as ‘affective paragrounds’. As an organic and continuously reconfiguring rhizomatic translocal network of protagonists – and their (in)tangible spaces – affective paragrounds are premised on mixed-method temporary approaches and alliances of communal collaborations with continuously changing positions, roles and strategies. By paragrounding themselves in ‘in-between-ness’ of private and public, they function on the borderline of (in)visibility to re-envision gradual transformations of socio-political and cultural conditions, at the same time raising awareness of freedom of expression, participatory citizenship and civil society formation.
The versatile forms of artistic and creative practices sparked by social movements worldwide are ... more The versatile forms of artistic and creative practices sparked by social movements worldwide are not limited to artists’ intentional aims to create artworks. Instead, most of the mixed-method interventions usually emerge from citizens’ aspirations to support the cause. While the interconnectedness of culture, arts, and social movements is widely acknowledged, the fluidity and interrelatedness of agency, intentions, and perceptions – which contribute to a more nuanced acknowledgement of emerging spatial and aesthetic tactics and strategies of citizenship for reappropriation of the urban public space – have not yet been adequately addressed. Drawing on de Certeau’s understanding on ‘the procedures of everyday creativity’ and the more recent studies of ‘vernacular creativity’, I propose further examination of ‘socially engaged creativity’. Employed as a multilevel analysis together with ‘socially engaged art’, it seeks to facilitate a closer examination of these often open-ended processes which are not necessarily preconceived or perceived as ‘art’. More importantly, it highlights how these creative practices aspire to provide sites for sharing, learning, and participation to enhance awareness of socio-political and cultural issues by citizens – even beyond social movements – and how (re)constructing citizenship and socio-political participation in the public space can build towards social transformation. This new framework hopes to broaden out the predominant discourse on ‘socially engaged art’ as a project initiated and led by artists by placing the focus on creative co-authoring of the space by citizens. Through an in-depth analysis of the Lennon Wall Hong Kong, co-authored in 2014, this paper has a twofold aim: to call for a more inclusive and detailed approach to examine the varied aspects of agency, intentions, and perceptions that constitute the partially overlapping range between ‘socially engaged art’ and ‘socially engaged creativity’; and to promote a more critical investigation of ‘artification’ processes.
Cultures of Participation: Arts, Digital Media and Cultural Institutions, 2019
Shifting forms of participatory agency and strategies are emerging from street art scenes worldwi... more Shifting forms of participatory agency and strategies are emerging from street art scenes worldwide. A case in point is the Micro Galleries initiative, a non-profit art endeavour, which since 2013 has diffused the genres of street art, participatory art, installation art and digital art. With a close analysis of their Festival in Jakarta in 2017, I will examine how the locally embedded, cross-cultural street art events in the urban public space foreground new methodological and theoretical challenges for the existing discourses and paradigms of participation in art. The Micro Galleries Festival reclaims the urban public space through simultaneous activities in everyday living environments and multidisciplinary co-creations between organisers, collaborators, artists on/off-site, volunteers, residents and visitors. This highlights not only intricate modalities and positionalities of participation which emerge from (un)planned collaborations and unexpected incidents, but also a need to investigate them. My study is based on a longitudinal and interdisciplinary research approach and is inspired primarily by Irit Rogoff’s (2005) and Sruti Bala’s (2018) calls for a broader and a more detailed theorisation of participation and extending it into the realms of visual culture and non-participation. Even in the face of contradictions and challenges, these kind of multimethod cross-cultural street art interventions hold the potential to expand the modes of participation beyond contemporary art into the spatio-aesthetic and socio-political conventions of the urban public space.
The aim of this paper is to examine the emergent practices of worlding by shifting the focus to t... more The aim of this paper is to examine the emergent practices of worlding by shifting the focus to the varied forms of female agency taking place in contemporary graffiti, street art and muralism. Given that the position of women has been underestimated in existing scholarships of worlding, (post)subcultures and contemporary art in East Asia, the questions of multiple roles of female agency, signifiers of femininity, and a more nuanced understanding of their impact to the spatio-aesthetic dynamics of public space are becoming ever more relevant. While contemporary graffiti is mainly seen as the domain of masculinity, the diversified manifestations of street art and muralism are more accepting for female participation and self-expression. Through critical analysis of the complexities of female agency and feminine aesthetics, the paper demonstrates how the transformation of contemporary graffiti into acknowledged forms of contemporary art has provided unseen possibilities for women to engage with what I call “worlding through gendering”. I posit that even if feminine signifiers or feminist aspirations might not be a dominating strategy in these artistic practices amidst the ever-growing transcultural urban environment, women protagonists are contributing towards new forms of worlding through aesthetic strategies and forms of female agency. They create situated experiments how to be global in cities in East Asia and worldwide.
Visual Arts, Representations and Interventions in Contemporary China. Urbanized Interface., 2018
The forms of urban creativity mediated to Mainland China since the
1990s are reshaping cityscapes... more The forms of urban creativity mediated to Mainland China since the 1990s are reshaping cityscapes. The contributions of foreign artists and practitioners are facilitating the rise of novel subjectivities, sites, and interventions. Inspired by discussions on interrelations of art and street art with site (Kwon 2000, 2004; Bengtsen 2013, 2014; Valjakka 2015) and translocality (Low 2016; Brickell and Datta 2011), I propose the framework of translocal site-responsiveness to deconstruct local/global dichotomies and to contribute to a more rounded understanding of artistic and creative practices. The analysis of selected examples reveals the interdependence between the varied forms of agency, manifestations, and site/place/space and contextualizes these negotiation processes in local and global discourses. I posit that urban creativity, whether created by foreigners, locals, or in collaboration, can provide a meaningful engagement with urban environments.
Visual Arts, Representations and Interventions in Contemporary China. Urbanized Interface., 2018
The dynamic interrelations between visual arts and urbanization in contemporary Mainland China br... more The dynamic interrelations between visual arts and urbanization in contemporary Mainland China bring forward unseen representations and urban interventions. We argue that innovative artistic and creative practices initiated by various stakeholders not only raise critical awareness on socio-political issues of Chinese urbanization but also actively reshape the urban living spaces through the formation of new collaborations, agencies, aesthetics and cultural production sites. All of these facilitate diverse forms of cultural activism as they challenge the dominant ways of interpreting social changes and encourage civic participation in the production of alternative meanings in and of the city. Their signif icance lies in their potential to question current values and power structures as well as to foster new subjectivities for disparate individuals and social groups.
The current understanding of urban resilience focuses on economic, environmental, and social resp... more The current understanding of urban resilience focuses on economic, environmental, and social responses. While the significance of art in enhancing social resistance has been acknowledged, the full potential of (un)authorised artistic and creative practices in initiating and strengthening the strategies of urban resilience is not yet recognised. Based on extensive fieldwork in 2012–2017, this paper delineates how urban hacking challenges the sociopolitical and spatio-aesthetic dynamics of the urban public space in Hong Kong as a form of cultural resilience that can contribute to a more holistic understanding of urban resilience. The diversity of urban hacking is indicated in an analysis of selected case studies of urban knitting and digital hacking that question the prevailing perceptions emphasising hacking as a method of illegal and arbitrary destruction. I posit that varied forms of urban hacking have a growing power to raise awareness of sociopolitical issues, enhance solidarity, and renegotiate space for new strategies and subjectivities aiming for more versatile co-authorship of the city.
Introduction
Hong Kong is transnational and transcultural by nature. The trends in visual and po... more Introduction
Hong Kong is transnational and transcultural by nature. The trends in visual and popular culture are constantly shaped by people and vogues flowing through the city. A key issue visible in all spheres of life is the balancing between two aims: How to be part of the international scene while also developing Hongkongnese self-identities (as citizens of Hong Kong) mirrored against the mainland Chinese as the “other.” Differentiation from mainland China co-exists with interdependence and co-operation in many fields of culture, too. While the impact of foreign trends and creators of urban art images has been significant in Hong Kong, one should not lose sight of original production, either. A case in point is the “King of Kowloon” (Tsang Tsouchoi, 1921–2007), a prolific writer of calligraphic texts on any surface in urban public space since the 1960s. As will be discussed, King and his oeuvre is an illuminating case of transforming perceptions and the inconvenience of Western definitions. He also illustrates how the development of urban art images differs from that in mainland China: His production spans decades of Hong Kong history, from British governance until 1997 to the city’s articular status as a Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. The socio-political and cultural context of Hong Kong has clearly had an impact on the emergence and development of the urban art images, including the variety in content and format as well as the varying levels of transculturality, concepts, acceptance, and employment for different purposes by institutions, city authorities, and even the police. Nonetheless, the vicinity of mainland China, and of the city of Shenzhen as Hong Kong’s next-door neighbor, allows forms of collaboration with mainland Chinese creators in exhibitions and various events in particular, including the Meeting of Styles (MOS).
Introduction
Since the mid-1990s, intricate and ever-changing negotiation processes are shaping t... more Introduction Since the mid-1990s, intricate and ever-changing negotiation processes are shaping the spaces for urban art images in Mainland China. The scenes and their developments vary from one city to another because of the impact of individual local and foreign creators of urban art images, government officials, agents of contemporary art including, among others, gallery owners, art critics, art professors, and many other related features, such as local and international events. Rapid urban development has both created and destroyed sites for urban art images. Despite some accepted sites to paint, for many locals, creating any kind of urban art image is a shortterm pastime, usually a part of student life. Most of the early pioneers have become occupied with their daily jobs and time to continue engagement on the streets is very limited. Some creators, such as art students, may only take part once or twice in authorized events by officials promoting their own understanding of acceptable forms (see e.g. China.org.cn 2013).
Regardless of the ephemerality of the images, sites, and creators, the aim of this chapter is to introduce the main characteristics of the phenomenon through case studies focusing on the scenes in Beijing and in Shanghai, and to suggest a framework beneficial for further research. When compared with the international trends that have impacted on the emergence and transformation of what is usually addressed as “graffiti” or “street art,” we are able to pinpoint significant differences in terms of intentions, perceptions, reception, employment, and the art market in both Beijing and Shanghai. The focus of this chapter lies in these two cities in which I have followed the developments since 2006 through fieldwork periods, news and social media, interviews, personal communication, and observations in situ.
The edited volume explores the agency of Chinese women through nine chapters and thirteen informa... more The edited volume explores the agency of Chinese women through nine chapters and thirteen information boxes covering the emergence of 'the woman question', politics, feminism and gender discussions, family, education, work and labor market, religion, literature and visual art. Edited by T. Airaksinen, E. Sinkkonen and M. Valjakka, published in Finnish by Art House in March 2016.
Interconnectedness between visual arts and urbanization defines the recent development of Chinese... more Interconnectedness between visual arts and urbanization defines the recent development of Chinese visual arts
Abstract
Shaped in the shadow of colonialism and post-colonialism, visual arts in Hong Kong have ... more Abstract Shaped in the shadow of colonialism and post-colonialism, visual arts in Hong Kong have wrestled with issues of identity, locality, and international recognition. The lengthy process of the transfer of sovereignty, initiated in 1984 by the signing of the Joint Declaration, inspired contemporary artists in Hong Kong to assert their locality. In the 1990s in particular, since the trauma of the Tian’anmen Incident in 1989, ‘[a] psychic decolonization occurred which marked out a distance from both of these larger contexts [Western and Chinese art] without simply denying either’ (Clarke 2001: 8; also pp. 38‒69). The ideological struggles were visible in architecture and official public art too, which celebrated the reunion both during and after the Handover in 1997. It can also be argued that official public art in Hong Kong to a certain extent marks an ongoing cultural mainlandization of the urban space by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). But how do urban art images, such as street art and contemporary graffiti, survive the discourses of post-colonialism in its specific forms of de/recolonization and mainlandization, and debates of cultural heritage and indigenous identities? How do they engage with the complex situation? I seek to explore these questions by modifying Henri Lefebvre’s (1991) definition of space as a continuous process in which the physical, mental, and social aspects of the space are intertwined. In this process of creating the space of urban art images, we need to consider the agency of the creators of urban art images as constructors of the space and its norms, the nationality/ethnicity of the creators, as well as the contextualized formal analysis of the images and the site-responsiveness. Based on intensive periods of fieldwork research in Hong Kong since 2012, extensive photographic documentation, and frequent meetings and in-depth interviews with more than sixty local and non-local creators of urban art images, my aim is to provide a different perspective to the usage and understanding of urban public space at the grassroots level. As I have come to understand, while following the creators throughout the alleys, streets, canals, rooftops, and abandoned buildings, the urban public space appears very different in the eyes of the creators of urban art images.
Keywords: urban art images, contemporary graffiti, street art, mainlandization, urban public space
In the past two decades, unparalleled urbanization in cities across mainland China has deeply aff... more In the past two decades, unparalleled urbanization in cities across mainland China has deeply affected and transformed Chinese visual arts. Critical artistic and creative examinations of the interfaces between urbanization, society, culture, arts and people in Chinese cities have produced a great variety of new visual forms and agencies. In this introductory essay, we argue that the complexities of reciprocal relationship between urbanization and the visual arts deserve greater scholarly attention than they have been given so far, and we call for continuous and multiple-perspective research into the subject. The visual arts not only mirror the city but they actively participate in city-making processes. The investigation of artists, filmmakers and urbanites into the changing urban space in which they live has given birth to a post-socialist urban aesthetics, which, as Robin Visser proposes, functions as a new realm to envision, experience and assess the city. In doing so, it enables new forms of civic agencies to emerge. Visual art, as indicated by Yomi Braester in his study of Chinese films, interacts with political decisions and architectural plans, creating both material and ideological constructs of the cities. We maintain that the varied forms of visual arts and agencies discussed in this special issue not only reveal and interpret how the processes of globalization and urbanization are interrelated, but also participate in the reconstruction of sociospatial relationships and the reconceptualization of the city at local, national, and even global levels.
Building on a critical gendered approach at the intersection of arts, women, and homelessness, th... more Building on a critical gendered approach at the intersection of arts, women, and homelessness, this article calls attention to the structured layers of (in)visibilities of female agency, existence, and resilience. The arts have a special place and importance in civil society formation in relation to homelessness in Japanese cities today, so the aim is to elucidate the significant but understudied role of women in enhancing varied forms of resilience in the urban environment. Arts, activism, and, in particular, art activism on socio-political issues in Asian cities are typically perceived as methods of resistance against local and national governments, whereas their crucial contribution to urban resilience often remains unrecognized. By investigating the emergent forms of interdisciplinary arts in Tokyo and Osaka that are aimed at sustainability in less-privileged living conditions, this article contributes to the growing field of studies acknowledging how these circumstances are brought about not only by economic ruptures but also by gendered socio-structural and cultural factors. By recognizing the intricate parameters of the varied artistic practices, a more nuanced understanding of the gendered urban resilience in maintaining communities, neighborhoods, and cities can be gained.
KEYWORDS: Arts, homelessness, female agency, urban resilience, Japan
Socially Engaged Public Art in East Asia: Space, Place, and Community in Action, 2022
This chapter examines the forms and potentialities of multilayered female agency and engagement w... more This chapter examines the forms and potentialities of multilayered female agency and engagement with the urban through street art and murals by JunkHouse (Seoul), Bao Ho (Hong Kong) and Sasu (Tokyo). While intricate questions on both feminisms and (self-)representations of women in visual have gained growing attention, a more nuanced understanding of their impact and roles in public art and the socio-cultural norms of public space are becoming ever more pertinent. Even though contemporary graffiti is mainly seen as the domain of masculinity, the diversified manifestations of street art and muralism are more accepting for female participation worldwide. Through gendered analysis that pays attention on how female agency and feminine aesthetics are interrelated for renegotiating the use of urban public spaces, publicness as an intricate processes in arts, and existing spatio-aesthetic dynamics, the chapter demonstrates how street art and murals have provided unseen possibilities for women to make their presence and visions known in and for cities. I posit that even if feminine signifiers or feminist aspirations might not be a dominating strategy in these translocal artistic practices amidst the contested urban environment, women protagonists, such as JunkHouse, Bao Ho and Sasu, are not only providing alternative readings on gendered publicness of spaces but also contributing towards new ways of understanding women’s right to the cities.
Taking ‘underground(s)’ as the conceptual point of departure, the authors in this Special Issue i... more Taking ‘underground(s)’ as the conceptual point of departure, the authors in this Special Issue investigate the socio-political, cultural and ideological dynamics of ‘cultural undergrounds’ across cities in East and Southeast Asia. Through critical analysis of changing conditions, frameworks, (mis)representations and self- and counter-definitions, we seek to build towards a timely interdisciplinary discourse. Can ‘underground(s)’ survive, given that they are surrounded by an instrumentalization and institutionalization of arts and culture, by policing and surveillance, (self-)censorship, and a growing privatization and aestheticization of the urban environment? What kind of symbolic, political and societal value do ‘underground(s)’ have in such circumstances? Why would someone prefer to be considered as a representative of the undergrounds? While addressing these emergent questions, we acknowledge the theoretical and methodological challenges of fluid phenomena characterized by a vast range of cultural production. Hence, we share the aspiration to encourage further locally-embedded comparative and interdisciplinary research that contributes to more nuanced international discussions about cultural undergrounds. Drawing from our in-depth case studies on films and documentaries, music, literature, contemporary art and their interconnectedness, we highlight the importance of socio-historical interrelations, gender, queer identities, aesthetic strategies, translocality, intermedia practices, (a)political self-positioning and spatial adjustments in the urban environment.
Forces of Art: Perspectives from a Changing World, 2020
Amid growing interests in the arts and their possible societal impact in the twenty-first century... more Amid growing interests in the arts and their possible societal impact in the twenty-first century, notions of empowerment, community building, and reinvigoration of villages and urban neighbourhoods are acknowledged across cultural policies, art studies, and redevelopment plans. Such growing attention to the arts and their life-changing potentiality has led to further instrumentalization of artistic practices. This may cause interdependences with financial agencies, and adds urgency to questions of the societal role, autonomy, inclusiveness, and sustainability of arts. A discussion of arts, cultural, and creative ecosystems has also recently emerged in Indonesia to address these challenges. Koalisi Seni Indonesia and ruangrupa are two recognized initiators for public acknowledgment of multidisciplinary art(s) ecosystem(s). By positioning the two actors in a broader socio-political and cultural context, the aim of this study is to delineate the main concerns, aspirations, and contingencies related to art(s) ecosystem(s). Through a comparative approach including not only insights by local representatives but also emerging discourses in the region and beyond, I seek to facilitate lateral thinking and further envisionings of more nuanced understandings of ‘balanced art(s) ecosystem(s)’ and how this can contribute towards the regeneration of ‘cultural resilience.’ The major objective of this paper is to enable innovative perceptions and help the planning of future theoretical and practical approaches.
The socio-political transformations of East and Southeast Asia, their direct impact on the changi... more The socio-political transformations of East and Southeast Asia, their direct impact on the changing norms of censorship, cultural and urban policies, and on growing surveillance have led people involved with the socially engaged artistic and creative practices to develop varied tactics and strategies to renegotiate the (im)material boundaries set for them. These mainly discursive, spatial, temporal and aesthetic forms of affective civic engagement aim to disseminate alternative envisionings without necessarily having a directly antagonistic agenda towards the establishment. Inspired by the recent discourses of affect and its potentiality not only in arts but more broadly in temporary, human/nonhuman encounters, and also in the urban environment, I propose that this kind of liminal and fluid self-positioning between ‘underground(s)’ and mainstream could be better understood as ‘affective paragrounds’. As an organic and continuously reconfiguring rhizomatic translocal network of protagonists – and their (in)tangible spaces – affective paragrounds are premised on mixed-method temporary approaches and alliances of communal collaborations with continuously changing positions, roles and strategies. By paragrounding themselves in ‘in-between-ness’ of private and public, they function on the borderline of (in)visibility to re-envision gradual transformations of socio-political and cultural conditions, at the same time raising awareness of freedom of expression, participatory citizenship and civil society formation.
The versatile forms of artistic and creative practices sparked by social movements worldwide are ... more The versatile forms of artistic and creative practices sparked by social movements worldwide are not limited to artists’ intentional aims to create artworks. Instead, most of the mixed-method interventions usually emerge from citizens’ aspirations to support the cause. While the interconnectedness of culture, arts, and social movements is widely acknowledged, the fluidity and interrelatedness of agency, intentions, and perceptions – which contribute to a more nuanced acknowledgement of emerging spatial and aesthetic tactics and strategies of citizenship for reappropriation of the urban public space – have not yet been adequately addressed. Drawing on de Certeau’s understanding on ‘the procedures of everyday creativity’ and the more recent studies of ‘vernacular creativity’, I propose further examination of ‘socially engaged creativity’. Employed as a multilevel analysis together with ‘socially engaged art’, it seeks to facilitate a closer examination of these often open-ended processes which are not necessarily preconceived or perceived as ‘art’. More importantly, it highlights how these creative practices aspire to provide sites for sharing, learning, and participation to enhance awareness of socio-political and cultural issues by citizens – even beyond social movements – and how (re)constructing citizenship and socio-political participation in the public space can build towards social transformation. This new framework hopes to broaden out the predominant discourse on ‘socially engaged art’ as a project initiated and led by artists by placing the focus on creative co-authoring of the space by citizens. Through an in-depth analysis of the Lennon Wall Hong Kong, co-authored in 2014, this paper has a twofold aim: to call for a more inclusive and detailed approach to examine the varied aspects of agency, intentions, and perceptions that constitute the partially overlapping range between ‘socially engaged art’ and ‘socially engaged creativity’; and to promote a more critical investigation of ‘artification’ processes.
Cultures of Participation: Arts, Digital Media and Cultural Institutions, 2019
Shifting forms of participatory agency and strategies are emerging from street art scenes worldwi... more Shifting forms of participatory agency and strategies are emerging from street art scenes worldwide. A case in point is the Micro Galleries initiative, a non-profit art endeavour, which since 2013 has diffused the genres of street art, participatory art, installation art and digital art. With a close analysis of their Festival in Jakarta in 2017, I will examine how the locally embedded, cross-cultural street art events in the urban public space foreground new methodological and theoretical challenges for the existing discourses and paradigms of participation in art. The Micro Galleries Festival reclaims the urban public space through simultaneous activities in everyday living environments and multidisciplinary co-creations between organisers, collaborators, artists on/off-site, volunteers, residents and visitors. This highlights not only intricate modalities and positionalities of participation which emerge from (un)planned collaborations and unexpected incidents, but also a need to investigate them. My study is based on a longitudinal and interdisciplinary research approach and is inspired primarily by Irit Rogoff’s (2005) and Sruti Bala’s (2018) calls for a broader and a more detailed theorisation of participation and extending it into the realms of visual culture and non-participation. Even in the face of contradictions and challenges, these kind of multimethod cross-cultural street art interventions hold the potential to expand the modes of participation beyond contemporary art into the spatio-aesthetic and socio-political conventions of the urban public space.
The aim of this paper is to examine the emergent practices of worlding by shifting the focus to t... more The aim of this paper is to examine the emergent practices of worlding by shifting the focus to the varied forms of female agency taking place in contemporary graffiti, street art and muralism. Given that the position of women has been underestimated in existing scholarships of worlding, (post)subcultures and contemporary art in East Asia, the questions of multiple roles of female agency, signifiers of femininity, and a more nuanced understanding of their impact to the spatio-aesthetic dynamics of public space are becoming ever more relevant. While contemporary graffiti is mainly seen as the domain of masculinity, the diversified manifestations of street art and muralism are more accepting for female participation and self-expression. Through critical analysis of the complexities of female agency and feminine aesthetics, the paper demonstrates how the transformation of contemporary graffiti into acknowledged forms of contemporary art has provided unseen possibilities for women to engage with what I call “worlding through gendering”. I posit that even if feminine signifiers or feminist aspirations might not be a dominating strategy in these artistic practices amidst the ever-growing transcultural urban environment, women protagonists are contributing towards new forms of worlding through aesthetic strategies and forms of female agency. They create situated experiments how to be global in cities in East Asia and worldwide.
Visual Arts, Representations and Interventions in Contemporary China. Urbanized Interface., 2018
The forms of urban creativity mediated to Mainland China since the
1990s are reshaping cityscapes... more The forms of urban creativity mediated to Mainland China since the 1990s are reshaping cityscapes. The contributions of foreign artists and practitioners are facilitating the rise of novel subjectivities, sites, and interventions. Inspired by discussions on interrelations of art and street art with site (Kwon 2000, 2004; Bengtsen 2013, 2014; Valjakka 2015) and translocality (Low 2016; Brickell and Datta 2011), I propose the framework of translocal site-responsiveness to deconstruct local/global dichotomies and to contribute to a more rounded understanding of artistic and creative practices. The analysis of selected examples reveals the interdependence between the varied forms of agency, manifestations, and site/place/space and contextualizes these negotiation processes in local and global discourses. I posit that urban creativity, whether created by foreigners, locals, or in collaboration, can provide a meaningful engagement with urban environments.
Visual Arts, Representations and Interventions in Contemporary China. Urbanized Interface., 2018
The dynamic interrelations between visual arts and urbanization in contemporary Mainland China br... more The dynamic interrelations between visual arts and urbanization in contemporary Mainland China bring forward unseen representations and urban interventions. We argue that innovative artistic and creative practices initiated by various stakeholders not only raise critical awareness on socio-political issues of Chinese urbanization but also actively reshape the urban living spaces through the formation of new collaborations, agencies, aesthetics and cultural production sites. All of these facilitate diverse forms of cultural activism as they challenge the dominant ways of interpreting social changes and encourage civic participation in the production of alternative meanings in and of the city. Their signif icance lies in their potential to question current values and power structures as well as to foster new subjectivities for disparate individuals and social groups.
The current understanding of urban resilience focuses on economic, environmental, and social resp... more The current understanding of urban resilience focuses on economic, environmental, and social responses. While the significance of art in enhancing social resistance has been acknowledged, the full potential of (un)authorised artistic and creative practices in initiating and strengthening the strategies of urban resilience is not yet recognised. Based on extensive fieldwork in 2012–2017, this paper delineates how urban hacking challenges the sociopolitical and spatio-aesthetic dynamics of the urban public space in Hong Kong as a form of cultural resilience that can contribute to a more holistic understanding of urban resilience. The diversity of urban hacking is indicated in an analysis of selected case studies of urban knitting and digital hacking that question the prevailing perceptions emphasising hacking as a method of illegal and arbitrary destruction. I posit that varied forms of urban hacking have a growing power to raise awareness of sociopolitical issues, enhance solidarity, and renegotiate space for new strategies and subjectivities aiming for more versatile co-authorship of the city.
Introduction
Hong Kong is transnational and transcultural by nature. The trends in visual and po... more Introduction
Hong Kong is transnational and transcultural by nature. The trends in visual and popular culture are constantly shaped by people and vogues flowing through the city. A key issue visible in all spheres of life is the balancing between two aims: How to be part of the international scene while also developing Hongkongnese self-identities (as citizens of Hong Kong) mirrored against the mainland Chinese as the “other.” Differentiation from mainland China co-exists with interdependence and co-operation in many fields of culture, too. While the impact of foreign trends and creators of urban art images has been significant in Hong Kong, one should not lose sight of original production, either. A case in point is the “King of Kowloon” (Tsang Tsouchoi, 1921–2007), a prolific writer of calligraphic texts on any surface in urban public space since the 1960s. As will be discussed, King and his oeuvre is an illuminating case of transforming perceptions and the inconvenience of Western definitions. He also illustrates how the development of urban art images differs from that in mainland China: His production spans decades of Hong Kong history, from British governance until 1997 to the city’s articular status as a Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. The socio-political and cultural context of Hong Kong has clearly had an impact on the emergence and development of the urban art images, including the variety in content and format as well as the varying levels of transculturality, concepts, acceptance, and employment for different purposes by institutions, city authorities, and even the police. Nonetheless, the vicinity of mainland China, and of the city of Shenzhen as Hong Kong’s next-door neighbor, allows forms of collaboration with mainland Chinese creators in exhibitions and various events in particular, including the Meeting of Styles (MOS).
Introduction
Since the mid-1990s, intricate and ever-changing negotiation processes are shaping t... more Introduction Since the mid-1990s, intricate and ever-changing negotiation processes are shaping the spaces for urban art images in Mainland China. The scenes and their developments vary from one city to another because of the impact of individual local and foreign creators of urban art images, government officials, agents of contemporary art including, among others, gallery owners, art critics, art professors, and many other related features, such as local and international events. Rapid urban development has both created and destroyed sites for urban art images. Despite some accepted sites to paint, for many locals, creating any kind of urban art image is a shortterm pastime, usually a part of student life. Most of the early pioneers have become occupied with their daily jobs and time to continue engagement on the streets is very limited. Some creators, such as art students, may only take part once or twice in authorized events by officials promoting their own understanding of acceptable forms (see e.g. China.org.cn 2013).
Regardless of the ephemerality of the images, sites, and creators, the aim of this chapter is to introduce the main characteristics of the phenomenon through case studies focusing on the scenes in Beijing and in Shanghai, and to suggest a framework beneficial for further research. When compared with the international trends that have impacted on the emergence and transformation of what is usually addressed as “graffiti” or “street art,” we are able to pinpoint significant differences in terms of intentions, perceptions, reception, employment, and the art market in both Beijing and Shanghai. The focus of this chapter lies in these two cities in which I have followed the developments since 2006 through fieldwork periods, news and social media, interviews, personal communication, and observations in situ.
The edited volume explores the agency of Chinese women through nine chapters and thirteen informa... more The edited volume explores the agency of Chinese women through nine chapters and thirteen information boxes covering the emergence of 'the woman question', politics, feminism and gender discussions, family, education, work and labor market, religion, literature and visual art. Edited by T. Airaksinen, E. Sinkkonen and M. Valjakka, published in Finnish by Art House in March 2016.
Interconnectedness between visual arts and urbanization defines the recent development of Chinese... more Interconnectedness between visual arts and urbanization defines the recent development of Chinese visual arts
Abstract
Shaped in the shadow of colonialism and post-colonialism, visual arts in Hong Kong have ... more Abstract Shaped in the shadow of colonialism and post-colonialism, visual arts in Hong Kong have wrestled with issues of identity, locality, and international recognition. The lengthy process of the transfer of sovereignty, initiated in 1984 by the signing of the Joint Declaration, inspired contemporary artists in Hong Kong to assert their locality. In the 1990s in particular, since the trauma of the Tian’anmen Incident in 1989, ‘[a] psychic decolonization occurred which marked out a distance from both of these larger contexts [Western and Chinese art] without simply denying either’ (Clarke 2001: 8; also pp. 38‒69). The ideological struggles were visible in architecture and official public art too, which celebrated the reunion both during and after the Handover in 1997. It can also be argued that official public art in Hong Kong to a certain extent marks an ongoing cultural mainlandization of the urban space by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). But how do urban art images, such as street art and contemporary graffiti, survive the discourses of post-colonialism in its specific forms of de/recolonization and mainlandization, and debates of cultural heritage and indigenous identities? How do they engage with the complex situation? I seek to explore these questions by modifying Henri Lefebvre’s (1991) definition of space as a continuous process in which the physical, mental, and social aspects of the space are intertwined. In this process of creating the space of urban art images, we need to consider the agency of the creators of urban art images as constructors of the space and its norms, the nationality/ethnicity of the creators, as well as the contextualized formal analysis of the images and the site-responsiveness. Based on intensive periods of fieldwork research in Hong Kong since 2012, extensive photographic documentation, and frequent meetings and in-depth interviews with more than sixty local and non-local creators of urban art images, my aim is to provide a different perspective to the usage and understanding of urban public space at the grassroots level. As I have come to understand, while following the creators throughout the alleys, streets, canals, rooftops, and abandoned buildings, the urban public space appears very different in the eyes of the creators of urban art images.
Keywords: urban art images, contemporary graffiti, street art, mainlandization, urban public space
In the past two decades, unparalleled urbanization in cities across mainland China has deeply aff... more In the past two decades, unparalleled urbanization in cities across mainland China has deeply affected and transformed Chinese visual arts. Critical artistic and creative examinations of the interfaces between urbanization, society, culture, arts and people in Chinese cities have produced a great variety of new visual forms and agencies. In this introductory essay, we argue that the complexities of reciprocal relationship between urbanization and the visual arts deserve greater scholarly attention than they have been given so far, and we call for continuous and multiple-perspective research into the subject. The visual arts not only mirror the city but they actively participate in city-making processes. The investigation of artists, filmmakers and urbanites into the changing urban space in which they live has given birth to a post-socialist urban aesthetics, which, as Robin Visser proposes, functions as a new realm to envision, experience and assess the city. In doing so, it enables new forms of civic agencies to emerge. Visual art, as indicated by Yomi Braester in his study of Chinese films, interacts with political decisions and architectural plans, creating both material and ideological constructs of the cities. We maintain that the varied forms of visual arts and agencies discussed in this special issue not only reveal and interpret how the processes of globalization and urbanization are interrelated, but also participate in the reconstruction of sociospatial relationships and the reconceptualization of the city at local, national, and even global levels.
Socially Engaged Public Art in East Asia: Space, Place, and Community in Action, 2022
This anthology elucidates the historical, global, and regional connections, as well as current ma... more This anthology elucidates the historical, global, and regional connections, as well as current manifestations, of socially engaged public art (SEPA) in East Asia. It covers case studies and theoretical inquiries on artistic practices from Hong Kong, Japan, mainland China, South Korea, and Taiwan with a focus on the period since the 2000s. It examines how public art has been employed by artists, curators, ordinary citizens, and grassroots organizations in the region to raise awareness of prevailing social problems, foster collaborations among people of varying backgrounds, establish alternative value systems and social relations, and stimulate action to advance changes in real life situations. It argues that through the endeavors of critically-minded art professionals, public art has become artivism as it ventures into an expanded field of transdisciplinary practices, a site of new possibilities where disparate domains such as aesthetics, sustainability, placemaking, social justice, and politics interact and where people work together to activate space, place, and community in a way that impacts the everyday lives of ordinary people.
Available at https://vernonpress.com/book/1417 or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Socially-Engaged-Public-East-Asia/dp/1648893422/
This edited volume provides a multifaceted investigation of the dynamic interrelations between vi... more This edited volume provides a multifaceted investigation of the dynamic interrelations between visual arts and urbanization in contemporary Mainland China with a focus on unseen representations and urban interventions brought about by the transformations of the urban space and the various problems associated with it. Through a wide range of illuminating case studies, the authors demonstrate how innovative artistic and creative practices initiated by various stakeholders not only raise critical awareness on sociopolitical issues of Chinese urbanization but also actively reshape the urban living spaces. The formation of new collaborations, agencies, aesthetics and cultural production sites facilitate diverse forms of cultural activism as they challenge the dominant ways of interpreting social changes and encourage civic participation in the production of alternative meanings in and of the city. Their significance lies in their potential to question current values and power structures as well as to foster new subjectivities for disparate individuals and social groups.
Uploads
Papers by Minna Valjakka
KEYWORDS: Arts, homelessness, female agency, urban resilience, Japan
open access, full text available online
1990s are reshaping cityscapes. The contributions of foreign artists and
practitioners are facilitating the rise of novel subjectivities, sites, and
interventions. Inspired by discussions on interrelations of art and street
art with site (Kwon 2000, 2004; Bengtsen 2013, 2014; Valjakka 2015) and translocality (Low 2016; Brickell and Datta 2011), I propose the framework of translocal site-responsiveness to deconstruct local/global dichotomies and to contribute to a more rounded understanding of artistic and creative practices. The analysis of selected examples reveals the interdependence between the varied forms of agency, manifestations, and site/place/space and contextualizes these negotiation processes in local and global discourses. I posit that urban creativity, whether created by foreigners, locals, or in collaboration, can provide a meaningful engagement with urban environments.
Hong Kong is transnational and transcultural by nature. The trends in visual and popular culture are constantly shaped by people and vogues flowing through the city. A key issue visible in all spheres of life is the balancing between two aims: How to be part of the international scene while also developing Hongkongnese self-identities (as citizens of Hong Kong) mirrored against the mainland Chinese as the “other.” Differentiation from mainland China co-exists with interdependence and co-operation in many fields of culture, too. While the impact of foreign trends and creators of urban art images has been significant in Hong Kong, one should not
lose sight of original production, either. A case in point is the “King of Kowloon” (Tsang Tsouchoi, 1921–2007), a prolific writer of calligraphic texts on any surface in urban public space since the 1960s. As will be discussed, King and his oeuvre is an illuminating case of transforming perceptions and the inconvenience of Western definitions. He also illustrates how the development of urban art images differs from that in mainland China: His production spans decades of Hong Kong history, from British governance until 1997 to the city’s articular status as a Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. The socio-political and cultural context of Hong Kong has clearly had an impact on the emergence and development of the urban art images, including the variety in content and format as well as the varying levels of transculturality, concepts, acceptance, and employment for different purposes by institutions,
city authorities, and even the police. Nonetheless, the vicinity of mainland China, and of the city of Shenzhen as Hong Kong’s next-door neighbor, allows forms of collaboration with mainland Chinese creators in exhibitions and various events in particular, including the Meeting of Styles (MOS).
Since the mid-1990s, intricate and ever-changing negotiation processes are shaping the spaces for urban art images in Mainland China. The scenes and their developments vary from one city to another because of the impact of individual local and foreign creators of urban art images, government officials, agents of contemporary art including, among others, gallery owners, art critics, art professors, and many other related features, such as local and international events.
Rapid urban development has both created and destroyed sites for urban art images. Despite some accepted sites to paint, for many locals, creating any kind of urban art image is a shortterm pastime, usually a part of student life. Most of the early pioneers have become occupied with their daily jobs and time to continue engagement on the streets is very limited. Some creators, such as art students, may only take part once or twice in authorized events by officials promoting their own understanding of acceptable forms (see e.g. China.org.cn 2013).
Regardless of the ephemerality of the images, sites, and creators, the aim of this chapter is to introduce the main characteristics of the phenomenon through case studies focusing on the scenes in Beijing and in Shanghai, and to suggest a framework beneficial for further research.
When compared with the international trends that have impacted on the emergence and transformation of what is usually addressed as “graffiti” or “street art,” we are able to pinpoint significant differences in terms of intentions, perceptions, reception, employment, and the art market in both Beijing and Shanghai. The focus of this chapter lies in these two cities in which I have followed the developments since 2006 through fieldwork periods, news and social media,
interviews, personal communication, and observations in situ.
Shaped in the shadow of colonialism and post-colonialism, visual arts in Hong Kong have wrestled with issues of identity, locality, and international recognition. The lengthy process of the transfer of sovereignty, initiated in 1984 by the signing of the Joint Declaration, inspired contemporary artists in Hong Kong to assert their locality. In the 1990s in particular, since the trauma of the Tian’anmen Incident in 1989, ‘[a] psychic decolonization occurred which marked out a distance from both of these larger contexts [Western and Chinese art] without simply denying either’ (Clarke 2001: 8; also pp. 38‒69). The ideological struggles were visible in architecture and official public art too, which celebrated the reunion both during and after the Handover in 1997. It can also be argued that official public art in Hong Kong to a certain extent marks an ongoing cultural mainlandization of the urban space by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). But how do urban art images, such as street art and contemporary graffiti, survive the discourses of post-colonialism in its specific forms of de/recolonization and mainlandization, and debates of cultural heritage and indigenous identities? How do they engage with the complex situation?
I seek to explore these questions by modifying Henri Lefebvre’s (1991) definition of space as a continuous process in which the physical, mental, and social aspects of the space are intertwined. In this process of creating the space of urban art images, we need to consider the agency of the creators of urban art images as constructors of the space and its norms, the nationality/ethnicity of the creators, as well as the contextualized formal analysis of the images and the site-responsiveness. Based on intensive periods of fieldwork research in Hong Kong since 2012, extensive photographic documentation, and frequent meetings and in-depth interviews with more than sixty local and non-local creators of urban art images, my aim is to provide a different perspective to the usage and understanding of urban public space at the grassroots level. As I have come to understand, while following the creators throughout the alleys, streets, canals, rooftops, and abandoned buildings, the urban public space appears very different in the eyes of the creators of urban art images.
Keywords: urban art images, contemporary graffiti, street art, mainlandization, urban public space
KEYWORDS: Arts, homelessness, female agency, urban resilience, Japan
open access, full text available online
1990s are reshaping cityscapes. The contributions of foreign artists and
practitioners are facilitating the rise of novel subjectivities, sites, and
interventions. Inspired by discussions on interrelations of art and street
art with site (Kwon 2000, 2004; Bengtsen 2013, 2014; Valjakka 2015) and translocality (Low 2016; Brickell and Datta 2011), I propose the framework of translocal site-responsiveness to deconstruct local/global dichotomies and to contribute to a more rounded understanding of artistic and creative practices. The analysis of selected examples reveals the interdependence between the varied forms of agency, manifestations, and site/place/space and contextualizes these negotiation processes in local and global discourses. I posit that urban creativity, whether created by foreigners, locals, or in collaboration, can provide a meaningful engagement with urban environments.
Hong Kong is transnational and transcultural by nature. The trends in visual and popular culture are constantly shaped by people and vogues flowing through the city. A key issue visible in all spheres of life is the balancing between two aims: How to be part of the international scene while also developing Hongkongnese self-identities (as citizens of Hong Kong) mirrored against the mainland Chinese as the “other.” Differentiation from mainland China co-exists with interdependence and co-operation in many fields of culture, too. While the impact of foreign trends and creators of urban art images has been significant in Hong Kong, one should not
lose sight of original production, either. A case in point is the “King of Kowloon” (Tsang Tsouchoi, 1921–2007), a prolific writer of calligraphic texts on any surface in urban public space since the 1960s. As will be discussed, King and his oeuvre is an illuminating case of transforming perceptions and the inconvenience of Western definitions. He also illustrates how the development of urban art images differs from that in mainland China: His production spans decades of Hong Kong history, from British governance until 1997 to the city’s articular status as a Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. The socio-political and cultural context of Hong Kong has clearly had an impact on the emergence and development of the urban art images, including the variety in content and format as well as the varying levels of transculturality, concepts, acceptance, and employment for different purposes by institutions,
city authorities, and even the police. Nonetheless, the vicinity of mainland China, and of the city of Shenzhen as Hong Kong’s next-door neighbor, allows forms of collaboration with mainland Chinese creators in exhibitions and various events in particular, including the Meeting of Styles (MOS).
Since the mid-1990s, intricate and ever-changing negotiation processes are shaping the spaces for urban art images in Mainland China. The scenes and their developments vary from one city to another because of the impact of individual local and foreign creators of urban art images, government officials, agents of contemporary art including, among others, gallery owners, art critics, art professors, and many other related features, such as local and international events.
Rapid urban development has both created and destroyed sites for urban art images. Despite some accepted sites to paint, for many locals, creating any kind of urban art image is a shortterm pastime, usually a part of student life. Most of the early pioneers have become occupied with their daily jobs and time to continue engagement on the streets is very limited. Some creators, such as art students, may only take part once or twice in authorized events by officials promoting their own understanding of acceptable forms (see e.g. China.org.cn 2013).
Regardless of the ephemerality of the images, sites, and creators, the aim of this chapter is to introduce the main characteristics of the phenomenon through case studies focusing on the scenes in Beijing and in Shanghai, and to suggest a framework beneficial for further research.
When compared with the international trends that have impacted on the emergence and transformation of what is usually addressed as “graffiti” or “street art,” we are able to pinpoint significant differences in terms of intentions, perceptions, reception, employment, and the art market in both Beijing and Shanghai. The focus of this chapter lies in these two cities in which I have followed the developments since 2006 through fieldwork periods, news and social media,
interviews, personal communication, and observations in situ.
Shaped in the shadow of colonialism and post-colonialism, visual arts in Hong Kong have wrestled with issues of identity, locality, and international recognition. The lengthy process of the transfer of sovereignty, initiated in 1984 by the signing of the Joint Declaration, inspired contemporary artists in Hong Kong to assert their locality. In the 1990s in particular, since the trauma of the Tian’anmen Incident in 1989, ‘[a] psychic decolonization occurred which marked out a distance from both of these larger contexts [Western and Chinese art] without simply denying either’ (Clarke 2001: 8; also pp. 38‒69). The ideological struggles were visible in architecture and official public art too, which celebrated the reunion both during and after the Handover in 1997. It can also be argued that official public art in Hong Kong to a certain extent marks an ongoing cultural mainlandization of the urban space by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). But how do urban art images, such as street art and contemporary graffiti, survive the discourses of post-colonialism in its specific forms of de/recolonization and mainlandization, and debates of cultural heritage and indigenous identities? How do they engage with the complex situation?
I seek to explore these questions by modifying Henri Lefebvre’s (1991) definition of space as a continuous process in which the physical, mental, and social aspects of the space are intertwined. In this process of creating the space of urban art images, we need to consider the agency of the creators of urban art images as constructors of the space and its norms, the nationality/ethnicity of the creators, as well as the contextualized formal analysis of the images and the site-responsiveness. Based on intensive periods of fieldwork research in Hong Kong since 2012, extensive photographic documentation, and frequent meetings and in-depth interviews with more than sixty local and non-local creators of urban art images, my aim is to provide a different perspective to the usage and understanding of urban public space at the grassroots level. As I have come to understand, while following the creators throughout the alleys, streets, canals, rooftops, and abandoned buildings, the urban public space appears very different in the eyes of the creators of urban art images.
Keywords: urban art images, contemporary graffiti, street art, mainlandization, urban public space
Available at https://vernonpress.com/book/1417
or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Socially-Engaged-Public-East-Asia/dp/1648893422/