Behind the scenes at street art exhibition Hidden Street
Hidden Street is a community art project featuring nine Hong Kong street artists who have worked together to transform the art gallery into a street corner. Callum Thomson takes a look into the creative process behind the project.
Stepping into Pearl Lam Galleries during the initial stages of street art community project Hidden Street is a profound insight into the desires and motivations of the nine young artists involved in this show. The floor is covered with protective paper, the walls awash with splashes of color. The artists are cheerful and conversational as they put the finishing touches on their respective works in between lounging on beanbags and taking brief cigarette breaks.
A striking red and blue mural adorns the near and far side wall, featuring with boldly designed personified buildings and marine-influenced trams with crab legs, amongst other creations. A joint effort between street artists Felipe Wong, Hadrian Lam, Anny, Bao and Uns, the mural is a stylized representation of Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun, the area where the exhibition takes place. It’s a momentary snapshot of the neighborhood, captured in art.
“Sai Ying Pun and Sheung Wan have a rich culture and history. Our neighborhoods are transforming recently and it is becoming a unique art scene.” says Yuyu Chen of Pearl Lam Galleries. “Pearl Lam Galleries Soho is dedicated to the promotion of emerging artists and designers. We organized this project to emphasize art as a communal experience, and to bring attention to the talented street artists of Hong Kong.”
The artists themselves have chosen to interpret this within their own individual way, some focusing their artworks on the impressions that Sheung Wan and the Sai Ying Pun area have made on them, while others have chosen satirize Hong Kong society or the influence the city has had on their artistic expression.