Photography exhibition draws parallels between LGBT life and political uncertainty, Covid-19 pandemic in Hong Kong

Showing now at WMA Space in Central, ‘Unruly Visions’ features several works with direct references to Hong Kong’s 2019 anti-government protests

The artistic expressions of a minority that has always been told to conform may carry new-found resonance during the city’s current political climate

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A masked protester holds his hand out towards someone who appears to be in drag in Nelson Tang’s ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been’ (2019-20), taken during the 2019 anti-government protests and part of the ‘Unruly Visions’ show. Photo: Nelson Tang Chak-man

Published: 4:45pm, 22 Jan 2021Updated: 5:24pm, 22 Jan 2021

A photo exhibition called “Unruly Visions” shows that the queer eye – unlike the famous makeover show of the same name – sees more than just fashion, lifestyle and interior design.

Showing now at WMA Space in Central, the exhibition is a product of a series of workshops organised by the Hong Kong International Photo Festival designed to help those identifying as LGBT develop their artistic practices and publish their photos, and to explore the way these artists’ work reflects some LGBT experiences.

The workshops were led by New York-based artist and educator Ka-man Tse, who in 2018 published a photo book of the LGBT community in Hong Kong, her city of birth. The book features dozens of intimate and tender portraits that she took of individuals who have carved out a space for themselves in a society where being “different” is often frowned upon.

The idea that an LGBT orientation may lead to a different way of seeing things from straight cis-gender people is a suggestion fraught with danger and one that could easily feed the stereotypes that generations of queers have fought hard to dismantle. But in a moment when Hong Kong society at large has to come to terms with a new political order based on strict adherence to a state-defined identity, the artistic expressions of a minority that has always been told to conform may carry new-found resonance and inspire empathy.

Wiency Wong’s “A Forbidden Kiss” (2020). Photo: Wiency Wong

“Unruly Visions” features a number of works with direct references to Hong Kong’s anti-government protests of 2019 – unsurprising, Tse says, since the workshops took place during the protests. Seeing the images, one realises there were aspects of the protests that parallel the LGBT world: face masks worn as disguises and as symbols of defiance; black-clad strangers catching each other’s eye on the MTR in search of solidarity; the police stopping and searching those who fitted the force’s profile of a “typical” protester. The LGBT community knows all about being profiled, about disguises and about the need to express themselves in codes.

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