Local artists paint grim picture of dream village in the wake of their eviction

'We artists are indestructible; even in a prison, or in a concentration camp, I would be almighty in my own world of art, even if I had to paint my pictures with my wet tongue on the dusty floor of my cell.' - Pablo Picasso, 1949 EVEN though Hong Kong artists do not have to resort to painting with their tongues to express themselves creatively, many are feeling down-and-out about their brush with the Government over, and on-going struggle to hold on to, the Oil Street artists' village, Hong Kong's only artists' village.

To many this is a real challenge as they continue to question the Government's determination to assist in the development of organic art activities, and ability for innovation.

The departure of several art groups from Oil Street was necessary 'in order that residential/ commercial developments, which will have substantial benefits to the wider community, may proceed as planned', according to Government Property Administrator (GPA) Albert Lai Kwok-ying. Many cultural critics saw this as a retreat and invoked much debate on the issue.

Support for the preservation of Oil Street came in the form of a petition signed by numerous public figures and newspaper articles debating the feasibility of an Qartists' village for the SAR. This backing alone, artists felt, diluted the Government's victory.

They were buoyed by the fact that while they might have lost the battle to stay put, the war to raise public consciousness for an artists' society had been won.

More than two months after their withdrawal from Oil Street, the fanfare that accompanied their fight to maintain it has noticeably died down. Now relocated in the disused Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir - an interim base until their ultimate destination, a cattle depot in Ma Tau Kok, is fully renovated - the remaining artists have become more than a little doubtful about their future.