At 7.30pm Hong Kong time on April 1, the dissident Chinese-Australian artist known as Badiucao revealed to his 55,500 Instagram followers that he had managed to pull off a stunt in the city.
His video posted to the social media platform shows the artist’s face, with his signature untamed beard, appearing in black and white on two large outdoor billboards for about four seconds.
His mouth moves silently as traffic and pedestrians stream past. The Instagram post explains what he is mouthing, in English: “You must take part in revolution.” It is a line taken from a 1937 essay, “On Practice”, by late Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong that is also the title of his new graphic novel, written by Emmy-nominated journalist Melissa Chan.
The short video clips, filmed from the street, are undated but the locations of the LED billboards are given: 33A Argyle Street and 6-12 Sai Yeung Choi South Street in Mong Kok – just about the busiest spots in Hong Kong’s most densely populated district.
The artist gave us false information in order to be admitted to the exhibition and I find it really low
The Instagram post explains that Badiucao submitted the video work, titled Here and Now, under the pseudonym Andy Chou to the Milan-based Art Innovation Gallery for inclusion in its Hong Kong public art project “Luminance”.
According to an earlier statement by the gallery, “Luminance” was “an immersive exhibition” timed to coincide with Art Basel Hong Kong, the international art fair that ran from March 26-30.
