Visualizing Local Identity : Artistic Expression in the Post-2020 Hong Kong

Sammanfattning: Hong Kong’s art scene has been subject to relevant changes in recent years due to unprecedented events that characterised the years of 2019 and 2020 (large-scale protests, implementation of the National Security Law, and the Pandemic). These changes have affected the production and self-perception of local artists. In this thesis, a constructionist life story interview is used to investigate how the sociopolitical changes have influenced the art practice of young Hong Kong local artists and how these artists understand their own identity in terms of Hong Kong’s localist narrative. The results revealed that artists responded to the National Security Law’s limitations on freedom of expression, funding accessibility, and exhibition spaces, by adopting a more introspective look in their form of art. This resulted in subtler art pieces that addressed a newly invigorated local identity through non-direct visual symbolisms and blurriness.