Creative awakening sparked by Occupy Central as sit-ins reclaim streets
From art to the practicalities of protest, Hongkongers’ innovation and imagination are on show
Dawn broke yesterday on a new figure standing outside government headquarters in Admiralty: a three-metre statue of a person holding an umbrella and bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Tiananmen Square icon: the Goddess of Democracy.
The statue, the work of a designer and a group of about 10 friends in the past few days, was the latest example of how the protests have brought out participants' creativity in both practical and artistic ways.
They have mounted new road signs pointing at an expressway to true democracy. They have created hundreds of artworks inspired by umbrellas. They have developed creative solutions to coordinate supplies of water, food and protective equipment while making creative use of newfound public spaces in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok.
Cultural critics and artists said the movement had allowed young people to reclaim their rights to the city's public space. The vast roads and flyovers which are suddenly free of traffic gave them a new freedom and imagination to redefine Hong Kong.
"There is social innovation," said cross-media artist Wen Yau.