20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Performance art by South Ho makes a point about Hong Kong's red lines under security law
There were hoots of laughter as the artist South Ho Siu-nam performed his new live performance piece during the May 10 opening of his exhibition 'Wandering Daily' in Hong Kong.
Wearing a pair of plain white, basic trainers laced up with different ends of the same 100-metre-long shoelace, Ho strutted around Blindspot Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang in faux military style, dragging a long trail of white string through the crowded room in his wake.
It caused mild mayhem as members of the audience scuttled out of the way or became awkwardly entangled when they refused to budge.
Me, My White Sneakers, and Shoelaces was Chaplinesque in its comedy and just as serious. This was an illustration of Hong Kong's reality since the introduction of National Security Law in 2020: there is still a lot you can do – the shoelace gave plenty of slack – but the line is always there.
South Ho performs Me, My White Sneakers, and Shoelaces at Blindspot Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong, on May 10, 2025. Photo: Ray Leung courtesy of artist and Blindspot Gallery
'Wandering Daily' is his first solo Hong Kong show since 2019 and it is a quietly impassioned response to how socially engaged artists continue to stay true to their art despite the new red lines.
