At the end of last year, I began a series of blog posts focussing on the then on-going Hong Kong protests, Umbrella Revolution, Umbrella Movement, Occupy Central happening, citing my words and work by other artists and photographers, including a series of photographs by Phillip and Anthony Reed and my article ‘Hong Kong’s Visual Politics – A city observation or global “agitprop”?‘.
Continuing on from this, and my research into the art, archiving and translation of “occupy movements” worldwide (where I am currently starting to work with other people to create a body of visual and textual responses), is photographic documentation provided by Stuart Whipps and Andrew Lacon, two photographers/artists from Birmingham, UK. It must be stated that the photographs shown here below were all taken on their phones and not indicative of their collaborative or individual photographic practice (which will be shown in another blog post). They witnessed the Umbrella Revolution’s infiltration through Hong Kong’s streets at the beginning of December 2014 on the way back from the Reference Works artists’ residency exchange trip to Guangzhou, a partnership between the Library of Birmingham and the Guangzhou Library through GRAIN photography hub. I will speak about this soon. So here is another opportunity to see the protest through others eyes, another way of seeing and interpreting this crucial happening in China and Hong Kong’s history. The first set of images are by Stuart Whipps…
And the second set here by Andrew Lacon. It is interesting to see what Stuart and Andrew have focussed on…what their eyes have been drawn and attracted to…where they have paused for thought and reflection. A moment to take in the familiar to the absurd. A moment to understand the power of the people…
Rachel Marsden's Words 