Nothing To See Here

Amid Hong Kong’s massive protests and increasingly severe government crackdown in the summer of 2019, graffiti proliferated in the city and became an iconic expression of dissent. Hans Leo Maes documents and inventories the different forms taken by the incessant work of state officials to cover up, hide, or attempt to remove these inscriptions from the public space. In this publication, the smudged markings at tram stops are particularly highlighted, where the combined action of graffiti and attempts at erasure have resulted in unique, ghostly images with a plasticity that refers to current forms of post-graffiti and contemporary art, questioning the mechanics behind the state.