Art and ego often go hand in hand. But how about using your art to claim ownership of a city and demand that you be installed as its ruler. Well, that’s what Tsang Tsou Choi did. Since the 1950s, he had been covering Hong Kong with graffiti messages claiming that the land rightfully belonged to his family.
Every city has crazy people, yes. But how many of these loonies achieved success on the international art stage. Known as the King of Kowloon, Tsang’s work has been sold at action. While some of Hong Kong’s art community has been charmed by his scribblings, they are fast disappearing. His death in July of this year brought about calls by the art world to preserve his work.
Urbanphoto.net gives Tsang his props: in a society that for decades stressed material gain and social mobility above all else, the King of Kowloon was an oddball and an outsider. His unique visual style influenced a generation of creative young Hong Kongers.
RIP Tsang Tsou Choi.
More about Hong Kong’s art scene in future posts.
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