Artist censored from Hong Kong protest exhibition

Badiucao is again at the centre of a censorship debate, left questioning the ambiguity the protest intentions, and structures of fear emerging in Australia.

This past week, the exhibition The Art of Defiance – Hong Kong: Revolution of Our Time, opened at the Sydney gallery m2 – a space for hire located in Surry Hills. The exhibition was organised by the group NSW Hongkongers, an independent outreach group of Hong Kong expats and Australian citizens.

While the theme of the exhibition was certainly current and contentious – swelling from the Hong Kong democracy movement and advocating freedom of speech – the opening (6 February) delivered a mixed message, with the work of Australian-Chinese political artist and cartoonist Badiucao withdrawn from the exhibition.

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina