1989 Tiananmen Square and 2014 Hong Kong protests shown in new light – literally – by US artist

American artist Hank Willis Thomas does not shy away from political sensitivities, and the manipulation of protest images in his Hong Kong exhibition – his first Asia solo show – may upset some people in a city where the anger and confusion that came after the divisive 2014 Occupy Central protest have yet to be reconciled.

“My Life is Ours”, at Ben Brown Fine Arts in Central, features a series of images based on photographs of various protests by Chinese people: the Hong Kong riots of 1967, the New York Chinatown protest against police brutality in 1975, Tiananmen Square in 1989, and the 2014 Occupy Central protest, also known as the “umbrella movement”.

Thomas’ images use an ingenious technique that he has used before for other protest images that forces people to look at these scenes in a different light – literally.

First, he selects archive images – a controversial move because of copyright issues – and transfers them by silk-screen printing onto a special aluminium sheet. He paints over the images using a kind of reflective paint often used on traffic signs. The original image is concealed under normal lighting, but becomes perfectly clear when illuminated by a flashlight or a camera flash.

It is perhaps a gimmick for the age of social media, but the way the images suddenly burst into view does make them more dramatic and powerful. That is why people who consider the Occupy Central protesters as criminals may find it uncomfortable that he glorifies them with images such as I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today (Black on Black). This image, which shows a crowd of people brandishing yellow umbrellas facing off with riot police armed with water cannons, highlights the peaceful nature of the protest against the government’s refusal to grant Hong Kong greater democracy.