Art of the Umbrella movement refers to artistic works created as part of the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong which demanded democracy in the election of the territory's top leader. Most of the physical works of art are located within the three main protest sites of Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok.
Art is often held to be an integral part of activism. For the students involved in the "Umbrella Revolution", their art is a primary vehicle of expression and a method of documenting what occurs. Use of the umbrella – an everyday item that protects users against the rain and the sun – by the protesters to deflect pepper spray and tear gas of the police, has given the object iconic status at a political level, symbolising resistance and the underlying social grievances. The occupied streets of Hong Kong have been transformed into an extended canvas of artistic creativity.
Iconography As an everyday item that protects users against the rain and the sun, the umbrella has, in the past, symbolised political weakness. In the context of the Hong Kong protests, it has been used to shield against the pepper spray and tear gas of the police, thus has become a political symbol of resistance. Physical umbrellas in all their guises have been used as subjects or as objects. The eight-lane expanse of road freed by the occupation has been transformed into an extended canvas for artistic expression. One artist explained that due to the lack of physical public space in Hong Kong, people's imagination is suppressed. She added that: "When the rules that bind your action are suddenly lifted, you are given the freedom to redefine everything." Artwork featuring the form of umbrellas are in abundance. Examples of works include umbrellas drawn on or decorated with calligraphy, balloon twisting into umbrellas, and mobiles of origami umbrellas. Colette Gaiter, an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Delaware, praised the quality of the artwork as possessing "an elevated aesthetic sensibility even in the ubiquitous handwritten signs and Post-it notes".
Kacey Wong, Assistant professor of Design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University held a contest for the best logo, and received entries from all over the world.Chow, Vivienne (29 September 2014). "Umbrella Revolution: more designs on Hong Kong's protest movement". South China Morning Post The competition aims to elevate awareness and generate more concern for the demand for "real universal suffrage" for Hong Kong. Wong said that use of social media such as Facebook allows for the creation of a "safe platform" for universal participation, which in turn generates awareness. Among the entries is one created by international street artist Invader.
The yellow ribbon, which has been used to represent women's suffrage, was adopted early by the movement. Activists adorned street railings and barricades with these, pinned them on shirts, and used them on Facebook profiles. Use of the symbolic yellow crossed over into the umbrellas.
Opening up yellow umbrellas indoors, as well as outdoors, has also become a way of sending in pro-democracy message in silence. Paul Zimmerman, a district councilor and member of the Civic Party, was an early proponent. Two days into the movement, Zimmerman opened a yellow umbrella at an indoor reception after a National Day ceremony which was attended by representatives of the PRC government. The graduation ceremonies of most universities in Hong Kong since October 2014 have seen attendees opening yellow umbrellas inside the hall, or graduates climbing the stage holding open umbrellas."Activists bring spot of color to graduation" . The Standard. 7 November 2014"Sung mellow with yellow as graduates earn his respect" . The Standard. 21 November 2014 Dozens of supporters arrived at Hong Kong International Airport with yellow umbrellas to send off the HKFS delegation that was set to fly to Beijing on 15 November.
Installations A number of installations and sculptures were created at occupation sites, of which one of the largest is a patchwork hanging in the middle of Umbrella Square made of fabric taken from more than a hundred broken umbrellas which were sewn together.Schumacher, Mary Louise (6 November 2014). "Q&A with Charlotte Frost about the Umbrella Revolution". Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee). The concept was developed by Baptist University art students, to bolster the movement in the early days. A group of about ten other students stripped the fabric from umbrellas that were broken and had been stained by tear gas in the police bombardment of 28 September, and wove them together and deployed it above what is now referred to as "Umbrella Square". Tse, the project leader, hoped that the umbrellas broken by the police, fashioned into canopy, symbolises an extended physical protection for citizens that also serves as a reminder of the presence of other citizens who are behind to support, in other ways.See AJ+ video At Admiralty, large yellow umbrellas have been installed at many lamp posts; Happy Gadfly concept by mainland artist Miso Zo inspired by The Gadfly, by Ethel Lilian Voynich. Made from discarded umbrellas, plastic bottles and other discarded materials, the project's originator says the installation symbolises how "They can destroy the movement, but like the fly it will come back." Other sizeable installations include a pepper spray installation at Causeway Bay, a shrine to Kwan Yu at Mong Kok.
Songs "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from a musical, Les Miserables, is popular with locals; it is sung with adapted Cantonese lyrics with a pro-democracy message. The Chinese lyrics were written anonymously for the Occupy Central movement by a well-known lyricist. In a video recording posted to YouTube in May 2014, the song named "Who Hasn't Spoke Up Yet?" () was performed by a young girl. The video amassed 30 thousand hits in three days. Three different versions were posted to the OCLP Facebook page prior to the unofficial referendum on 22 June. By 29 September, after the tear gas attack by the HK police, the video had been viewed at least 900,000 times. At the HKIED graduation ceremony, one trumpeter played an impromptu solo of the song in support of the movement.
"Imagine" by John Lennon was adopted by suffragists following certain journals' criticism of them being "naïve dreamers". They began to quote in response the line "you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one" from the lyrics onto banners and posters.
"Raise the Umbrella" ()Qin, Amy; Wong, Alan (24 October 2014). "Stars Backing Hong Kong Protests Pay Price on Mainland". The New York Times is specially created as encouragement to the movement by local musicians. The tune and original lyrics were written by a 25-year-old part-time musician Pan Lo () after he witnessed first hand the release of tear gas by the police. He then presented the composition to Denise Ho, who wanted to take it further and suggested rewriting the lyrics to more closely fit with the mood and times. Ho then enlisted the support of other artistes, Anthony Wong, Kay Tse and Deanie Ip to record the song with her after Lin Xi had reworked the lyrics.Chan, Gloria (29 December 2014) "Raise the Umbrella: Occupy anthem may become Hong Kong's song of the year". South China Morning Post
In a maiden political offering, David Cheang wrote deriding people who ignorantly or blindly opposed the Umbrella movement. The composition proved to be extremely popular on the internet, and was shared over 5,000 times. His song, "If I Call You a Stupid Dick, I'm Afraid You'd Be Mad" (話你戇鳩怕你嬲) employs Cantonese profanity in abundance, including in the title. The song lyrics start off from the perspective of a person who is fed up with the futility and inconvenience of the occupation, and then moves on to the viewpoint of another, who criticises his "friend" for polluting the earth with his bullshit."The Umbrella Movement Playlist", Foreign Policy (9 October 2014) The opening lyrics managed to fool Hong Kong director Lee Lik-chi (who did not support the movement) into endorsing the song initially on his Facebook page, until the torrent of mocking posts made him delete the post."反佔中李力持中伏 大讚《話你戇X怕你嬲》歌曲" . 852 Post. 28 October 2014
Another song that had been used for protests was "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" (also translated as "Under a Vast Sky") by Hong Kong band, Beyond.
Caricatures The city's leader, CY Leung, elected in a small-circle election with 689 votes, is a favourite subject of caricature. He has been represented as a wolf (or as Lufsig, the Ikea soft toy), as Adolf Hitler, and as Mao Zedong.Sataline, Suzanne (16 November 2014). "Will Hong Kong's protest art be saved?" Boston Globe Alternatively, he is represented pejoratively by the numbers "689".
"Mr and Ms. Hong Kong People" "Mr and Little Miss Hong Kong People" is a series of caricatures that draws inspiration from Roger Hargreaves' Mr. Men series. A local graphic artist named Maxwell Ip drew a set of cartoon figures to explain the important figures behind the Umbrella movement. Originally created "just for fun", he created more once the popularity exploded, with the aim of providing suitable and politically neutral materials for parents to educate their children about the protests, and important figures involved. The concept accumulated over 64,000 "likes" in just over two weeks. Eight hours after the creation of "Mr 689" – the nickname of Hong Kong chief executive CY Leung, Ip's personal Facebook page of the character had more than 3,000 shares. The popularity led Ip to immediately create a public Facebook page for the characters, which are added as events unfold. In addition to the cute wolf that caricatures "Mr 689", other popular characters include "Mr Tear" (after the tear gas episode of 28 September), "Mr Chow & Mr Shum" (after the HKFS leaders Alex Chow and Lester Shum), "Mr 4 pm" (after Steve Hui of the PR section of the HK Police – who appeared on television at 4 pm daily), "Little Miss Lam Cheng" (after the Chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor) "Mr Hungry" (after Mok Siu Man, who started a hunger strike on 2 October that lasted 40 days) and "Little Miss Ip Cancer" (after former secretary for security Regina Ip). Some of the characters' names are English crossovers from Cantonese or hybrids – for example, the character of Joshua Wong is named "Mr. G Phone", after his Chinese name.
Parodies of Xi Jinping and police banners Since an image of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping holding an umbrella won a top photojournalism award in China on 22 October, Xi has been parodied with a cut-out version where the umbrella has been made yellow. The edited image has appeared on stickers, posters, banners and life-size and oversize banners. Apple Daily reports that there are at least 13 cardboard cut-outs of general secretary Xi Jinping in Mong Kok, three in Causeway Bay, and one huge vertical banner depicting the image hanging from the pedestrian bridge in Admiralty. These cut-outs, many overwritten with pro-democracy or anti-communist slogans, are popular props for mainland visitors with which to take photographs.
Umbrella Man statue Umbrella Man is a high wooden statue created by a 22-year-old artist using the name "Milk" during the protests. The inspiration for the woodblock statue, symbolising freedom and peace, was a photograph of a suffragist holding an umbrella over a police officer to shield him from the rain. The statue is constructed of plywood of ordinary wood tint on a metal frame. Those blocks making up the face are white, symbolising pepper spray used by the police on the suffragists; the umbrella is yellow. It was constructed by the artist aided by a group of ten people.