Hong Kong: A Review of Invader’s Success and Failure
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Invader, the anonymous French street artist, has been placing mosaics worldwide for more than two decades. Since he started his art journey, his work has been lying in the gray area of society's legal aspects, dividing opinions and polarizing the community. Let us explore what happened to Invader’s mosaics in Hong Kong.
To date, there are 132 Invaders in Hong Kong. Taking 7 waves and scoring 4800 points in total.
the mass removal of the Third Wave Invasion
In early 2014, Invader came for his third wave of Invasion in Hong Kong. It was not his first time here, nor will it be his last. In his last two visits in 2001 and 2002, Invader installed a combined 25 mosaics. But that was nothing compared to the third wave of invasion, where he installed 48 new mosaics, his largest invasion of Hong Kong at the time.
However, it was followed by a mass removal of his artworks.
Soon after the installation, despite appreciation from locals and tourists, most of the mosaics were removed within a few weeks. Although it’s understandable that Invader’s street art is installed in public urban spaces and is not supposed to be permanent, why were so many of them removed in such a short space of time?
The answer to this question is that this is a planned removal executed by the authorities. The Highways Department is the reason for the immediate removal of the mosaics. They are responsible for the maintenance of public roads and associated facilities, and they claim that unauthorized graffiti on public facilities is unlawful and raises safety concerns. This led to mass removal.
However, the local policemen had quite a different attitude towards Invader. Usually, the police force is quite hostile towards street art culture, but the Hong Kong police showed respect. They didn’t arrest him when they discovered him creating art that they liked. Police in Hong Kong are not as strict and violent as those in other cities because graffiti isn’t a problem for them. Hong Kong may even be one of the easiest cities in the world for a street artist to put up their work.
This wipe-out is part of a planned process from the local authorities, and this is really new for me. I have never faced a situation where a public authority would systematically and rapidly remove the art from the streets.
-Invader
Invader says normally, his Invasion Waves see roughly 10 percent of his pieces removed. This time, however, the removal has been so thorough that even his work from previous waves of invasions was affected.
HK_33
The comeback of the Wipe Out Exhibition
In mid-2015, after the mass removal of his work, the street artist responded with a new exhibition — Wipe Out Exhibition
This is a quick comeback after the events in 2013. The exhibition is named after the mass removal of Invader’s mosaics, as mentioned above. Hence the name Wipe Out Exhibition.
In collaboration with the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Foundation, it aimed to promote an environment for public engagement for artists and the audience. After the discouraging mass removal of past works, Invader was not phased by it. Instead, he aimed to find ways to establish his works legally. In the venue of PMQ, Central, various Invaders can be found. You can even scan it on Invader’s official FlashInvaders app!
What was so unique in this exhibition is that the destroyed pieces and new works that were never published to the public were restored, including some that represent Hong Kong. An example would be a Bruce Lee monumental sculpture built in the front yard of the venue, and a portrait of Bruce Lee made with Rubik’s Cubes.
The success of the seventh Wave Invasion
In 2017, Invader invaded Hong Kong for the seventh time. Although Invader’s mosaics have experienced mass removal in the past, this time, it was a big success.
Invader had his first-ever collaboration with a shopping mall, Harbour City. Among Invader’s 32 new street artworks in various locations in Hong Kong, more than half, exactly 18, were installed in Harbour City. It is a first for both Invader and the mall, with Harbour City agreeing not to interfere and ruin Invader’s work.
Each artwork matches the location where they were placed and echoes the function of the mall, a staple of Invader’s mosaics.
For example, a common blue Space Invader character, often appearing in Invader’s work, is carrying a Hong Kong flag on a building that opens up to a scenic view of Victoria Harbour.
A merchandise that came with Invader’s Harbour City invasion was an Umbrella.
His tailor-made and tailor-designed limited edition umbrella features the Anchor design with the words of assurance from the mall printed on the umbrella strip: “Dear Invader, your artworks are safe with us. - Harbour City.” to shows the support and enthusiasm from Harbour City on art development.
Public support
Following the Mass Removal of Invader’s Art in Hong Kong
People in Hong Kong managed to restore HK_72 removed by the government with Invader mentioning them on his Instagram.
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We do not own any copyrights to the photos used
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All rights reserved ~ We do not own any copyrights to the photos used ~
