Where is Mr. Water?, 2020
mixed media installation
variable dimensions
Courtesy of the artist
“Be water,” as a mode of resistance during the anti- extradition movement in Hong Kong, expresses a high intensity and flexibility of collective actions. In addition, the “be water” strategy generates a new communal imagination in modern society— which is defined by isolation and individualism. In this regard, the generation of power and the deployment of movement can be equated with artistic practices. With the question “Where is Mr. Water?,” the collective Mr. Water+m#e^s tries to look back, analyze, and explore the face of “DemoStream.” In this exhibition, Mr. Water+m#e^s uses the corridor leading to the gallery space, materializing the concept of the Lennon Wall to display a myriad of promotional materials and visual information with an objective, universal, and collective consciousness.
Mr. Water+m#e^s (Taiwan) is a team of artists from Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwanese students and students from Hong Kong, who are concerned about the confusion of their homeland and willing to help the protesters with action. +m, #e, ^s are the team member’s code names. “Lau Shui” means flowing water, the characteristics highlighted by the Hong Kong anti-extradition movement. In Cantonese, “Sang” means birth, and it bares the meaning of “being born.” Lau Shui Sang is, thus, used as a question and as an action. As the Cantonese word ‘Sang’ means ‘Mr.’, the phrase can be so also expressed as “Mr. Water.” They express their opinions on university campuses, streets, and online spaces through a wide variety of forms of art. Mr. Water+m#e^s’ members deal with various incidents by paraphrasing their thoughts into messages that the public can understand and accept more easily through satirical and ironic expressions. This makes Taiwanese people, and even people all over the world, pay attention to Hong Kong’s social movement.