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The Star
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Hong Kong sculpture with yellow raincoats won't return outside Cultural Centre
A Hong Kong art installation featuring yellow raincoats and an umbrella will not be put back on display at a popular piazza where it was removed for restoration works last year, authorities have said, without explaining whether political considerations were behind the decision. One prominent art commentator said on Monday that the piece was unrelated to protest movements and such 'unnecessary' moves did not look good to an overseas audience, given the city wanted to cement its role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. Lining Up , a row of 10 cast bronze sculptures of everyday people by the late Taiwanese artist Ju Ming, had stood outside the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui for years before the Leisure and Cultural Services Department began its maintenance work on the installation. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Two of the figures are dressed in yellow raincoats and a third carries an umbrella in the same colour. In Hong Kong, the colour is associated with anti-government protesters. The department enclosed the sculptures with hoarding in April last year. A repeating photo of the work had been wrapped around the boards. But at some point in May last year, the department inserted grey panels covering each photo at the spot where they show the two sculptures in the line-up dressed in yellow raincoats. While the work was completed far before the 2014 'umbrella movement' took shape, the figures wearing yellow raincoats took on an added significance for some after a demonstrator dressed in the attire – later dubbed the 'raincoat man' – fell to his death in Admiralty in the early days of the 2019 social unrest. Protesters in both movements adopted the colour. In a reply to the Post on Monday, the department confirmed that the work would not be reinstalled outside the centre. 'As the sculpture concerned had been on display at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza for many years since 2017, it would not be reinstalled in situ,' a spokeswoman of the department said. She noted that the work had been removed earlier for restoration due to wear and tear. The repair works were now complete, with the installation currently under the department's care in storage. The department did not say whether its latest decision was related to the yellow raincoats. It also did not give details on storage arrangements or whether keeping it out of public view would be a waste of resources. The piazza currently displays two mascots – Xi Yang Yang and Le Rong Rong – for the 15th National Games, the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games. The Juming Museum in Taipei said the department owned the work, which is carved in Ju's recognisable minimalist style that earned him worldwide fame. John Batten, a Hong Kong-based art critic, called the decision not to reinstall the work unnecessary and an overreaction given the piece was not political. He said the decision was not beneficial for the city's art image overseas. 'It's a much loved work by the public, a very interactive work in a prominent position also with mainlanders going to the area. No one sees that yellow raincoat colour as a political work,' Batten said. 'What happened in 2019 is still a strong feeling for everyone in Hong Kong, [but] we all sort of know the boundaries now. The piece was never part of the protest ... It's unnecessary.' He said public speculation on the decision was unlikely to be the government's concern. 'I would ask that people, the art lovers in Hong Kong, be respected and the artwork is put back on display,' he said, adding that it could be exhibited at a different location. The sculpture was also temporarily enclosed in 2021, sparking similar speculation among internet users. Authorities said at the time that it was closed for regular maintenance, and it later reopened for public display. Ju's other works have been featured in major public spaces and galleries in Hong Kong and beyond. Sculptures from his Tai Chi series have also been on display at Exchange Square in Central as well as the Chinese University of Hong Kong for years. His works regularly appear in auctions and can fetch millions. Single Whip, one of his bronze sculptures from the Tai Chi series, was sold for HK$20.8 million in October 2011 at Sotheby's. The artist died in April 2023 aged 85, leaving behind a legacy of reframing elements of traditional Chinese culture for the modern era. More from South China Morning Post: For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2025.
HKFP
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- HKFP
Sculpture with figures in yellow raincoats will not be reinstalled ‘in situ' after repair, Hong Kong gov't says
An artwork by famed Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming, which includes figures in yellow raincoats, will not be reinstalled at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre despite the completion of the restoration work, the government has said. Ju's sculpture 'Lining Up' featured 10 figures standing in a line. Some wore black suits, two were in yellow raincoats, and one woman stood in pink holding a yellow umbrella. It was installed outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui in 2017. The artwork was removed in June after being covered by hoarding boards, sparking censorship concerns online. The government said at the time the piece was 'under repair.' Locally, yellow is associated with pro-democracy movements, particularly yellow umbrellas. During the 2019 protests and unrest, a demonstrator wearing a yellow raincoat died after falling from a platform outside a mall – yellow raincoats subsequently became a protest symbol. An HKFP reporter on Monday saw that the hoarding boards had been removed, leaving a white mark on the ground where the sculpture used to be. A few steps away, figures of Xi Yang Yang and Le Rong Rong, mascots for the upcoming National Games and other sports events, stood on display. In response to HKFP's enquiries, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) said that 'the restoration has been completed' and that the artwork 'is now in [the] LCSD's collection storage.' It also said: 'As the sculpture concerned had been on display at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza (the Piazza) for many years since 2017, it would not be reinstalled in situ.' The LCSD did not reply to HKFP's question of whether the artwork would be displayed elsewhere. The Chinese white dolphin-inspired mascots Xi Yang Yang and Le Rong Rong are currently exhibited outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre to promote the 15th National Games, as well as the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, the department added. The LCSD 'reviews its public art installations from time to time,' the department said. Created by the late Ju in 2002, Lining Up is part of his Living World series. The LCSD hosted an exhibition of artworks from the series at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in 2014 – three years before Lining Up was displayed outside the centre. In a Facebook post published in 2017, the Art Promotion Office under the LCSD invited members of the public to take photos with the artwork. 'Painted with vibrant colours, ten figures with different poses, clothes and body shapes are lining up casually… the queuing figures are expressively sculpted to large blocks with rough edges, which present a vivid depiction of people's contemporary life,' the post read. 'Among the figures, the one who wears a cap is actually the representation of Ju Ming himself!' The artwork was covered with the hoarding boards, which bore a photo of the sculpture. However, the two figures in yellow raincoats in the image were obscured by a notice, informing people that a reinforcement project was underway, with the yellow umbrella barely visible.
South China Morning Post
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong sculpture with yellow raincoats won't return outside Cultural Centre
A Hong Kong art installation featuring yellow raincoats and an umbrella will not be put back on display at a popular piazza where it was removed for restoration works last year, authorities have said, without explaining whether political considerations were behind the decision. Advertisement One prominent art commentator said on Monday that the piece was unrelated to protest movements and such 'unnecessary' moves did not look good to an overseas audience, given the city wanted to cement its role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. Lining Up, a row of 10 cast bronze sculptures of everyday people by the late Taiwanese artist Ju Ming, had stood outside the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui for years before the Leisure and Cultural Services Department began its maintenance work on the installation. Two of the figures are dressed in yellow raincoats and a third carries an umbrella in the same colour. In Hong Kong, the colour is associated with anti-government protesters. Advertisement The department enclosed the sculptures with hoarding in April last year.
