Art Censorship: The Ambiguous Definitions of Pornography / Erotica

By probing into controversial judgments made by the Obscene Article Tribunal of HKSAR government on erotic/ borderline artworks, this essay examines the development of this particular art subject, as well as difficulties it has encountered insofar in Hong Kong. Erotic/ borderline content in art-making is never a recent phenomenon. By tracing back to early 1900s, we aim to manifest, by a chronological approach, the appreciation of erotic/ borderline art is closely related to Hong Kong’s socio-cultural context. We would also show in cases that pornography in popular culture was once and has still been wrapped in the packing of “art”, and try to explain how the abundance pool of erotic/ sex-related materials in popular culture mold the sexual attitude of most ordinary citizens of Hong Kong, which unavoidably affects their perception of erotic/ borderline content in contemporary art.