Lennon Wall (Hong Kong)
Lennon Wall refers to the artistic form of expressions in the protest. Lennon Wall Hong Kong literally refers to the democratic mosaic wall created during the Umbrella Movement,[1] located at Central Government Complex, Harcourt Road, Admiralty, which is one of the main landmarks in the occupation area of Admiralty and one of the major arts of the Umbrella Movement as collective artistic works demanding democracy in the election of the territory’s top leader.
It was a wall full of colourful post-it notes (more than ten thousands pieces) with people’s written messages on democracy and universal suffrage. Post types included epigrams, lyrics, foreign words and graphics. It was a wall of encouragement and solidarity.
Following the end of the occupation, most of the arts were removed from its original positions while many protesters and citizens had been trying to re-create some of the arts, especially the Lennon Wall Hong Kong,[2] which aroused further issues such as the dispute in which a fourteen-year-old girl being arrested for drawing flowers on the wall with a chalk.[3]
Origin
The Lennon Wall was initially a wall in Prague, Czech Republic, which has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from the Beatles' songs. In 1988, this wall became the way for expressing the irritation for the communist regime of Gustáv Husák.
Since the 1980s, the wall has been continuously undergoing changes while the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paint. Nowadays, the wall in Prague represents the symbol of global ideals such as love and peace, which inspired the wall appeared on the walls of the stairs to Hong Kong Central Government Complex on Harcourt Road during the Umbrella Movement, with citizens posting colourful post-it notes with their democratic wishes for Hong Kong.
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History
29 Sept 2014
The day after the occupation started in Mong Kok, the occupation area expanded from Nathan Road and Argyle Street to Mong Kok Road, Sai Yeung Choi Street and so on. Vehicles were trapped because of the full-occupation of all six roadways in Nathan Road while many bus routes had to be rerouted. Meanwhile, those trapped buses and discontinued bus stops became the place where protestors and citizens stuck their opinions of requesting the stepdown of CY Leung and the slogans to call for universal suffrage,which were written mainly on cardboard and papers instead of post tips, which became the prototype for the Lennon Wall in Admiralty.
1 Oct 2014
The Lennon Wall in Hong Kong was created by a group of post-80s social workers, Lee Shuk-ching and Chow Chi. They bought post-its and invited people to write down their hopes and reasons for stay after around three days after police had tried to disperse protesters by firing tear gas. The first post was “Why Are We Here?” . After that, they stuck their posts, left their pens and post-its, inviting others to write their wishes. The message board started to expand and eventually colonized the entire wall beside the staircase heading to the Hong Kong Central Government Offices. Following over ten thousand notes being stuck onto the wall, this wall became the focus of media. Since the theme and format were found to be similar to the Lennon Wall in Prague of Czech Republic, the banner of “Lennon Wall Hong Kong” was hanged upon the wall which turned the wall into one of the landmarks for the occupied area in Admiralty. The banner of Lennon Wall Hong Kong also became the Facebook page created by Lee Shuk-ching and Chow Chi for recording the posts on Lennon Wall later on as well.
18 Oct 2014
An internet version of Lennon Wall was developed as a historical database to record the Umbrella Movement. Due to the clearance action of police, the originator was apprehensive that those post-its would be obliterated. She decided to create an online Lennon Wall and convert approximate ten thousand post-its into electronic form.
13 Dec 2014
In the study room of Causeway Bay occupation site, some secondary school students who joined the Central occupation used expanded polystyrene to construct a mini Lennon Wall. As the police had already announced that the eviction of Causeway Bay occupation area will be held on 15/12, citizens went there and left their heartfelt wishes. It became a scenic spot for taking photos.
20 Dec 2014
In the stair outside Central Government Offices, citizens tried to rebuild the Lennon Wall. They stuck posters printed with “It is just the beginning”, “We will be back” and “Umbrella Movement” on the wall. The staffs of Leisure and Cultural Services Development attempted to stop them. Although police noticed their action, police did not take action to interfere.
Record of Lennon Wall Hong Kong
The creators and some citizens realized that there must be the day when the movement come to an end while these notes may vanish, which is thought to be necessary to record these pieces for memorial purpose.
Thus, the campaign for recruiting volunteers to save the artworks, including to collect the post-its written and stuck on Lennon Wall. Starting from 9 p.m. 25 October, the volunteers started to take pictures of the posts.[4]
News Related
A fourteen-year-old girl was arrested for drawing flowers on the wall with a chalk
On 23 December, a fourteen-year-old girl was arrested and detained for 72 hours for drawing graffiti with a chalk on the lennon wall. It sparked controversy among the public, especially the activists. They described the girl as the “innocent political prisoner”. The girl was sent to juvenile home for 20 days and was released on bail soon after.
Hong Kong protesters to rebuild “Lennon Wall”
The wall of post-it notes was cleared as soon as the movement ended. The once colorful mosaic wall resumed to its empty grey wall. Yet artists have collected all those handwritten messages and was determined to rebuild the wall one day, because Lennon Wall Hong Kong has gradually become the spiritual sustenance and symbol expressing the wish of continuance of the Umbrella Movement.
Hong Kong Has Its Own ‘Lennon Wall’ To Show Support For Protests
During the Umbrella Movement, “To Hong Kong, From Prague, We Support You” spray-painted on Hong Kong “Lennon Wall”, to show support of Hong Kong protest.
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lennon Wall Hong Kong. |