While Hong Kong’s not exactly known for extreme behavior, there are plenty of people out there going against the grain. From nude performers to guerrilla musicians, sexual health drag queens to morose cartoonists, meet the people who are pushing the boundaries of their respective fields.
The Boy Band
Formed by four graduates from the Academy for Performing Arts and a veteran theater actor, Juicyning is a versatile band that loves to satirize Hong Kong’s Cantopop culture with their theatrical and musical talents. Whether imitating pop star crooners or flashing their butts on drama posters, Juicyning’s wit is unmistakable. Ironically, their theatrical skills, solid vocal abilities and burgeoning popularity have lead to Juicyning being labeled pop idols themselves. “Now that we’ve become idols, we must keep our promise and criticize ourselves,” says Juicyning, not without irony. But they’re not letting the trappings of fame get to them yet: “In fact, we can’t even handle ourselves.”
The Tattoo Artist
The one-named Leon believes in the tattoo as an art form. Surprising, given that he allows his friends to draw freely on his skin with their eyes closed. “They’re marks of my friends; they are part of my life and story,” says the French-Vietnamese tattoo artist, who recently made Hong Kong his home. Leon’s body is a living canvas that traces his travel history—the first thing he does when he arrives in a foreign country is head straight to a local tattoo parlor. The 33-year-old had his first tattoo done 20 years ago by an old French solider back home. Unsurprisingly, it shocked his parents, but it sparked a lifelong passion for tattooing. The permanent lines on Leon and his clients are more than just tattoos to him. The monochrome abstract lines are works of art, even if they’re not exactly “beautiful” in the eyes of some beholders. “I work against the social definition of beauty,” says Leon. “You don’t see the design; you see the inside. It’s about the feeling more than the meaning.”
The Comic Artist
Drawing comics hasn’t brought Yeung Hok-tak a great fortune. In fact, he was on the verge of bankruptcy when he put out his first graphic novel, “How Blue Was My Valley.” But Yeung has since won international recognition as a comic book artist: in addition to its sold-out success in Hong Kong, “How Blue Was My Valley” has been translated and printed by French publishing house L’Association. Set in his childhood home in Lam Tin, Yeung’s debut graphic novel is a touching and critical portrayal of life in public housing estates, delivered with Yeung’s trademark melancholic humor and distinctive drawings. His subsequent works have a socio-political undertone and continue to receive international attention. Yeung’s comics can be seen in overseas publications such as Comix 2000 (France) and Strapazin (Switzerland). But what makes Yeung a radical comic artist is not his success. Rather it’s his down-to-earth attitude and his grassroots sensitivity. “I’ve always been worried about being called a ‘comic artist.’ It seems too high profile. I’d call myself comics worker,” he says. “I don’t know how to do anything else; I can only draw.”
The Director
