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WE ARE NOT ___ Exhibition

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Project
EXH-012
Location
Openground, 198 Tai Nan Street, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
Date
21 May – 7 June 2020

"The more we are suppressed, the more we must speak out."

Six months after Lady Liberty HK was destroyed on Lion Rock, we returned with Hong Kong's first exhibition dedicated to her story.

"WE ARE NOT ___" — 《我哋重未 ＿＿》 — ran at Openground in Sham Shui Po from 21 May to 7 June 2020. The blank in the title was intentional: it could represent empty space, or words that had been deleted. Visitors were invited to imagine what they had not yet achieved, and to fill in what still mattered most.

The preparation was not without difficulty. Not long after we began publicising the exhibition, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department officers visited the venue and warned the organizers that displaying the statue prominently on the ground floor could result in their licence being cancelled. We agreed to remove the lower body from the ground floor display. Throughout the exhibition's run, a police vehicle was parked outside the venue. We pressed on. As our organizer Flash put it: "Has Hong Kong become a place where even an exhibition is not permitted? The more we're suppressed, the more we must speak out."

At the centre of the exhibition space stood the new Lady Liberty's upper body — assembled from 50 3D-printed components. Her pose was deliberately different from the original: left hand pressing upward against the ceiling, right hand bracing against the ground. The design reflected what the movement was facing — the weight of authoritarian pressure bearing down from above, "closing in." She represented all Hongkongers of conscience holding their ground against it.

Alongside the new statue, we displayed components recovered from the summit of Lion Rock after the original was destroyed: the broken umbrella, the shattered flagpole, the damaged lower body. Visitors could also try on the statue's large backpack, and trace the journey from early concept sketches through plaster prototypes and 3D-printed models. A 3D printer in the corner played "Glory to Hong Kong" on a loop, driven by its own motor.

On the staircase leading to the upper floor, a text installation ran from bottom to top: "We are the silent Hongkongers / We no longer believe / We can change the world / Hongkongers have become silent and indifferent / Only fools would think / This Hong Kong still has hope." Read in reverse — descending — the same words became a declaration of defiance. The movement had taught people to read in both directions.

The exhibition also featured special edition mini Lady Liberty statues created for charity sale by four collaborating artists: illustrator and cartoonist Ah To, street art collective Afterworkshop, contemporary artist Kacey Wong, and visual artist Ho Siu-kee. All proceeds after costs were donated to the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund.

From our artists' statement:

"Political turmoil engulfed the city. The voices of the millions remained unheard by the tyranny. When tyranny becomes law, rebellion is a duty. Where there is oppression, there is resistance.

The Lady Liberty Hong Kong, the iconic symbol of the democratic movement, returns after vanishing on Lion Rock last October. The exhibition is more than just an art show — it is also an assembly for the voices unheard, and a demonstration of our determination. United we stand, together we fight."

Following the close of the exhibition, the charity auction raised a total of HKD $163,888. After costs, HKD $156,888 was donated in full to the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund.