Viral photo nirvana: how a picture of monks in Hong Kong went global
The story behind a photo of monks in Hong Kong toting Nirvana bags that’s created a viral internet sensation
It was a photo snapped quickly on his phone while walking to the train – now Hongkonger Gaz Flint finds he has created a viral sensation that has taken off on Facebook, Instagram and Reddit.
“I’d just been to meet a friend in Tai Po and was headed towards the MTR to go home and I saw this group of monks with these bags and I thought it was quite funny. I’m not sure if they were aware of the rock band Nirvana, or if they thought it meant a sense of enlightenment the Buddhists want to achieve, and didn’t know that symbol was for the band. I took the photo,” he says.
“Later on I was wondering whether I should share it on Facebook. I showed it to a few friends, and they thought it was hilarious and said I had to share it. I posted it on Facebook with the caption ‘Wrong Nirvana, guys’ and it instantly got loads of likes.”
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It was when someone took his photo and posted it to Reddit – and Courtney Love, the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, posted it to her own Facebook account – that his photo took off around the world.
“I spoke to the person who put it on Reddit and they apologised, they didn’t want to take credit for the photo, so they took it down. Since then I’ve seen it pop up everywhere. Someone brought it to my attention that even Courtney Love had shared it,” he says.
What’s it like being the creator of a viral sensation?