ZUNI Icosahedron, an arts collective, was commissioned to present a performance in front of the Grand Hyatt Hotel on March 26, for the opening of the Wan Chai Food and Entertainment Extravaganza.
A composer from Zuni, Pun Tal-shu wrote a score for the performance. It was a mix of Buddhist chants, African drums and the street sounds of Wan Chai market. Another installation and performing artist from Zuni, Chan Pik-yu recently returned from Germany, had arranged an installation at the entire reception area, of 108 wood panels with Bhuddhist scriptures written on them. Underneath each of these panels, was laid a copy of Hongkong Arts Policy Review, recently published by the Hongkong Government.
As the performance proceeded, six Zuni performers with their heads all wrapped up in white bandages like mummies, moved among the guests and flipped the panels to review what was written on the other side - Chinese phrases in red, such as names of famousChinese dishes, names of social diseases, historical events and sites of Hongkong, and political slogans like ''Another Stove'', ''Through Train'' and ''Stability and Prosperity''. According to Pun Tak-shun, this was Zuni's response, in art form, to the recently published Hongkong Arts policy paper.
In the middle of the performance, the musicians were interrupted by the presenter of the reception, and Zuni was told that due to protests from the sponsors (one of them being the chairman of the Hongkong Tourist Association), against the music score which they considered as being of ''bad taste'', the music must be discontinued. The sponsors insisted that the presenter should take action, and the music was stopped leaving the artists angry and feeling insulted.
The irony of all this is that in the Arts policy review paper, the Hongkong Government proudly announces that there is a wonderful atmosphere in Hongkong and conditions here are designed to help the arts to flourish. And yet, we have semi-governmental agencies such as the Hongkong Tourists Association, showing little or no respect for the Arts.
MATHIAS WOO Producer Zuni Icosahedron
