Post No Pessimism: A Performance Lecture on Post-2019 Calligraphic Graffiti in Kowloon

This lecture performance is based on a work-in-progress collaboration between a printbook artwork "Erased Murmurs" (by Miu Ling Lam) and a psychogeographic practice (by Dino Zhang). Hong Kong is no stranger to calli-graffiti with its unsung heroes and waves of gentrification (the most well-known example being Tsang Tsou-choi aka. King of Kowloon). In 2019, we witnessed a resurgence of such urban writings in the form of militant and hyperbolic graffiti that exhibited agitation, nativism, and aversion to Chineseness. In contrast, the post-2019 graffiti are often apolitical, pessimistic, and moody scribbles on similar urban surfaces such as back-alley walls, pillar boxes, and lamp posts. They can be aphorisms, lyrics, poetry, profanities, confessions, and even dialogues. While rudimentary in calligraphic style (with some exceptions), the ambiguity and ugly feelings of these writings are a powerful example of the tenacity of an anonymous crowd seeking consolation and solidarity during a time of dire uncertainty. In this performance lecture, I will exhibit photographic prints of the graffiti on an overhead projector, with an essayistic the audience to "feel" the moods of the city.