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^ Graffiti mimicking the Emperor's calligraphic style with posters of his mugshot, which makes me think of Obama's campaign posters. The local artist community is brewing a street activity titled "Piss Me Off" to mark the second anniversary of a famed local character's death and, most importantly, remonstrate with the government for its red-tape complacency in conserving folk arts. The character in the spotlight is the deceased Mr Tsing Jo Choi, popularly known as the Emperor of Kowloon due to the reoccurring Chinese characters "Emperor Tsang" and "Emperor of Kowloon" in his graffiti.
If you haven't heard about the Emperor of Kowloon, you haven't quite known Hong Kong. If you've been to Hong Kong but not seen the Emperor's calligraphy, you missed the best part of it.
So, what is so special about this self-styled Emperor? Born in a Guangdong country in 1927, the Emperor moved to Hong Kong in 1937 when he was 16 years old. He married his wife in 1956 and started the life-long passion of doing graffiti in those special black-inked Chinese calligraphy of his. His works began to bloom in the street, appearing on electricity boxes, lamp posts, walls and whatnots. In the 1970s, for reason of the same passion, his family left him after he kept doing calligraphy in ink around the apartment. His black-inked graffiti are considered unique in style because of the filthily drippy, untidy yet fittingly balanced calligraphy, but they are interesting also for the royal title he styled himself with (the biggest characters say, "Emperor of Kowloon") and the state-secret like contents. For that matter, he was taken to be
somewhat mentally unsound.
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^What being enclosed inside are the Emperor's calligraphy under conservation works after, well, the lack of it for too long a period. That said, his works are much loved for the intriguing calligraphy and the essential part he played in the collective memory of Hong Kong people. Before the colonial British's intervention with bureaucratic stupidity to rub them away, his works were almost ubiquitous throughout Hong Kong (or more aptly, the Kowloon Peninsular). In the old days, the Emperor was often seen working on his graffiti on walls in Kowloon City. During his last few years, he become highly regarded for his calligraphic works which had been used in TV commercials, magazine covers, fashion and even auctioned by Sotheby's.
Sadly, after the death of the Emperor, his outdoor calligraphic works are fading due to weathering and the lack of proper conservation, kudos to the bureaucratic complacency. The most accessible works can be seen on one of the pillars near the entrance of the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is being boarded for conservation works.
Piss Me Off will take place in the Mongkok pedestrian precinct (the long strip of street with many Fortress and Broadways outlets along and close to the Ladies'Market) on 15 July from 9:00 to 21:00. The activity is mainly about doing graffiti in different artistic formats (probably doing something on the street furniture like this http). Be there with your camera!
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