Hong Kong Umbrella Movement, 2014-2024, 10th anniversary

This series captures the raw sequence by the photographer Quang Lam of events from October 5th to 12th, 2014. Organized in the style of black and white contact sheets, this presentation immerses viewers in the days when Hong Kong’s youth sought to take control of their future. Led by the 18-year-old Joshua Wong (visible in contact sheet number #5), the students occupied for two months the heart of Hong Kong in the Admiralty zone, where government buildings are located.

Color Symbolism

Yellow umbrellas served as a rallying symbol for the protesters. To illustrate the contrast between the moment of the shooting and today’s perception, all thumbnails have been graphically transformed into anaglyph photos. The vivid yet false colors of these images helped to visualize the political evolution of Hong Kong from this time to today

The Umbrella Man

As this series starts at the 5th October 2024, it was the first appearence of the Umbrella Man, “10-foot (3 m) high wooden statue created by a 22-year-old artist using the name “Milk” during the protests.The inspiration for the woodblock statue, symbolising freedom and peace, was a photograph of a suffragist holding an umbrella over a police officer to shield him from the rain. The statue is constructed of plywood of ordinary wood tint on a metal frame.Those blocks making up the face are white, symbolising pepper spray used by the police on the suffragists; the umbrella is yellow” (Wikipedia)

Testimonials

As it contains the photo of Joshua Wong and the Umbrella Man, the series is a testimonial for the famous song “Do You Hear the People Sing?” that became the popular slogan and anthem for the Umbrella movement.

More insights

Umbrella Movement in color

Hong Kong Protests 2019