Surmount 穿石 — Hong Kong: An Era of Unrest
- Project
- EXH-013
- Location
- Bopiliao Historical Block, Wanhua District, Taipei, Taiwan
- Date
- 20 June – 5 July 2020
- Partners
- Hong Kong Outlanders, Amnesty International Taiwan, Taiwan Association for Human Rights
"The surging black tide sometimes breaches the long dike. The trickling spring sometimes wears through the bedrock." — Yang Hua, Black Tide Anthology
In the torridity of the last summer, the struggles of Hong Kong spiraled into the unknown. Born in an era of change, raised in this fragmented city at the periphery of empire — we were bounded to tag along in the plight. Still, protesters everywhere continued to resist. They guarded freedom, sought dignity, and disdained oppression. The road of Hong Kong had just begun.
"Surmount 穿石 — Hong Kong: An Era of Unrest" brought that spirit to Taipei. Held at the Bopiliao Historical Block in Wanhua from 20 June to 5 July 2020, the group exhibition featured a 40-metre protest banner and an array of sculptures created collectively by young people in response to the movement — works that served as shared witness and as ongoing sources of courage. Lady Liberty HK contributed the lighting design for the exhibition.
The exhibition was organised by Hong Kong Outlanders (香港邊城青年) — a student-led group founded during the anti-extradition movement to serve Hongkongers in Taiwan — with Amnesty International Taiwan and the Taiwan Association for Human Rights as co-organisers.
The works from Surmount were later incorporated into Be Water, Be Fire, Be a Voice: Actions in the Everyday Ordinary (若水，如火，有聲), a major survey exhibition held at the Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung in early 2021, organised by the Kaohsiung City Government Bureau of Cultural Affairs.