“1997” in Hong Kong Visual Arts: The Restless Historical Transition and the Anxious Construction of Subjectivity

The handover of Hong Kong was a once-in-a-century historical transition amidst all the restlessness the city found itself in. “97” was thus considered a creative assignment given to many artists. This essay, through the works completed around the 90s by four artists, namely Choi Yan-chi, Lo Yuen-man Yvonne, Mui Chong-ki, and Fung Kin-chung John, intends to establish a framework for further discussion on the art of Hong Kong concerning the handover in 1997. Either born and brought up in Hong Kong or moved to Hong Kong from Mainland China/overseas, these four artists received their respective art education and training from the following: Hong Kong and the United States, the United States, Mainland China, and self-learning. All of them had experienced the changes Hong Kong went through in the 70s-90s and already been making art in a more organized way since the 80s.