Group wants to save Occupy protesters' artwork
Lawmaker urged to ensure police don't destroy pieces that have drawn worldwide attention
An arts and culture group wants to make sure Hong Kong police do not destroy the creative works of Occupy protesters.
The group - including representatives from the Umbrella Movement Visual Archives and Research Collective, Hong Kong Shield, copyright concern group Keyboard Frontline and theatre artists - raised the issue with Ma Fung-kwok, a lawmaker representing culture and sports, in a meeting yesterday.
Artist Wen Yau, a member of the collective which wants to archive the items, said the group urged Ma to talk to the government and police to urge them not to demolish the works when they are clearing protest sites.
"We asked him to tell the police that these works are worth keeping," said Wen.
"We also asked him to tell the police not to arrest volunteer field researchers collecting and retrieving the creative works in case of site clearance."
She said, however, that the group was worried about Ma's ambivalent stance to the creative pieces, such as the Umbrella Man sculpture and Lennon Wall, a rainbow collage of colourful notes in Admiralty.
The artistic creations have drawn international attention from the media and the art world. Western curators have expressed interest in exhibiting works overseas, including a curator for the Disobedient Objects exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.