Reclaim the wall [2003]
Background:
At the entrance of City University of Hong Kong there was a notice board for Students to post their opinions on the wall, this wall is called "Democratic Wall". After a renovation work the wall was moved to another location which people do not see easily. Students claimed the school did not carry out sufficient consultation among students and staffs while the school said they have already discuss this issue with student representatives.
Artist statement:
In the school, many areas are claimed to be "public space", but how public they could be? Space has been one of the primary issues in cultural studies; it reflexes the power domination and control. In City University of Hong Kong, the management of space was delegated to an external security company; student could apply and ask for permission to use the "public space". However the basis of processing the applications is completely obscure. Before this happening, staffs association organized a signature collection to object the fund cutting and according to one of the staff, their application was approved quickly. A day after the happening, my schoolmate called to the Facility Management Office (FMO) to ask for the application procedure for the same area, and the reply is that area is not opened for application. This happening is aimed at challenging this power through creative intervention. I believe in modern society, after 911, the power of the government is growing rapidly, affecting every aspect of our everyday life. Creative intervention is important to get us through this. This work is also inspired by the Situationist International.
Setup:
White papers were posted on the original location of the Democratic Wall, 2 closed circuits video projection between the original location and the present location of the Democratic Wall. This action did not authorized by the University or the school.
Links:
Hamlet's cv
You can download Hamlet's cv here