Ai Weiwei explores varied conflicts that mark a row over formula

An art installation in Sheung Wan takes the shape of a China map using some 2,000 cans of infant formula.

It is dissident mainland artist Ai Weiwei's way of questioning a debate that has engaged both sides of the border.

Ai's work, Baby Formula (2013), is showing at the government-owned Sheung Wan Civic Centre as part of an exhibition at Para Site art space, "A Journal of the Plague Year. Fear, ghosts, rebels. Sars, Leslie and the Hong Kong story".

Cosmin Costinas, executive director of the non-profit art space, hopes the show will provoke debate and wake up the critical spirit of the public.

"Politics is about living with others," Costinas said. "All art is political and it's inescapable. This exhibition touches on political issues about Hong Kong and China. People should start discussing these issues and problems from different levels.

"A more critical spirit means you analyse the situation and try to see the root cause of an issue."

The show draws from the creations of artists from Hong Kong, mainland China and abroad to tell stories about the plague and tries to connect its history with the birth of fear of otherness during the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.