Digital artwork related to 2019 protest removed from SOGO’s screen

An out-of-home (OOH) artwork on SOGO's screen in Causeway Bay, which revolved around the protesters and pro-democratic politicians in 2019, has been removed upon the request of the government. 

According to a tweet by the artwork creator Patrick Amadon on 23 March, the digital artwork has been taken down at the request of the government. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to SOGO and the government for a statement. 

Titled “NO RIOTERS”, the digital artwork was created by American digital artist Patrick Amadon and showcased the names, ages, and jail terms of protesters and activists during the 2019 anti-extradition movement. It has been displayed on SOGO’s LED screen since last Friday as part of the Hong Kong Art Week 2023 “The Sound of Pixels”. 

The artwork utilises a CCTV camera perspective with a red filter, at the same time indirectly uncovering the names, ages and jail terms of convictedHong Kong protesters and former lawmakers, including Benny Tai, Shiu Ka Chun and Lee Wing Tat.

According to HKFP, Amadon said that the idea of the digital art is to remind everyone of the sacrifices HongKongers made during the 2019 protest, while the flashes of computer codes represented protesters as a “glitch in the government matrix.” He added that he was not worried about legal concerns as he was not in Hong Kong at the moment.

On the other hand, Wen Wei Po accused Amadon of supporting the protesters and violence through his artwork. In response, Amadon tweeted that “According to a pro-Beijing outlet, I am ‘pro-rioters.’ This is correct,”.

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