I love the buzz of Asian cities. Hong Kong was always my number one with its international mix of people and blend of ancient Chinese traditions with ancestor worship, fortune telling, traditional Chinese characters, local small shops with indefinable products, high rise and contemporary design. Hong Kong was a Chinese world of its own; it has an ancient soul.
I painted Cultural Memory, Hong Kong 2017 with love for a place that no longer exists.
In 2021 I painted Hong Kong, view from an empty seat to symbolize the dismantling of democracy in Hong Kong.
These works are a tribute to my Hong Kong friends.
It hurts to see Hong Kong with its ancient traditions and traditional Chinese characters slowly but surely being absorbed into the rest of China's communist uniformisation. But that is how power and history work. Hong Kong democracy was a consequence of the colonial British Empire. Now the 'Chinese Empire' strikes back at the 'British Empire'.
