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MC Yan’s Kowloon Kickass Exhibition at the fresh Haus of Contemporary

Taking graffiti from the streets into the creative hub in the heart of Hong Kong

LiFTED | Quilla Chau | 27 Jun 2022


Haus of Contemporary, a new six-level creative block that blends a gallery, cafe, creative space and members lounge [co-founded by Matt Chung and Samson Ko] is now open in On Lan Street of Central, Hong Kong. This Haus was inspired by the famous German art school Bauhaus. It’s a space that aims to introduce a variety of contemporary arts including NFT collectibles, musical and spiritual encounters, movie screenings, and much more for people to explore.

In celebration of its opening, three exhibitions are open to the public until June 26. The G-1F is a space for Hong Kong’s classic movie-themed NFTs called CRYPTYQUES, a display of films and memories by renowned photographer Wing Shya.

Cafe Zendo, also on the ground floor is a space for like-minded creatives to connect. Additional creative touches include a smoke screen projector that displays classic Hong Kong movies that people can pass through. On the second-floor members’ lounge there were live music performances by MC Yan and local Indie band Chochukmo’s guitarist Les Hunter. The fifth floor is showing the ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ exhibition of British contemporary artist David Kaye.

Hong Kong Hip Hop and contemporary street artist Syan, aka MC Yan, is displaying his crossover derivative work at the 九龍勁抽 Kowloon Kickass exhibition featuring the late King of Kowloon, Tsang Tsou Choi. Another legendary ink-brush calligraphy graffiti artist, Hong Kong’s Plumber King is also included on the 3rd and 4th floors’ Seefood Room.

The Plumber King Lego

The word 勁抽 together means kickass, but it also has another meaning of 抽水, which is plumbing, yet also means piggyback or newsjacking. Those who have read our interview with MC Yan would know that Plumber King is also one of the biggest influences on his graffiti work, so the name of the exhibition once again shouts out his idol. Seefood Room is also an interesting name for Cantonese speakers, as it sounds both like seafood in English, and 屎窟 [ass] in Canto. However, my wild guess is that they used these multiple-meaning words to tease the public and give us visual food for us to ponder over.

On Kowloon Kickass, MC Yan and Curator Professor Kevin Tsui are using diverse materials and platforms to respond to graffiti in multiple ways, so we could find 2D, 3D, conceptual artwork, and the use of light and shadow throughout the two floors. They aim to highlight “What happens to the graffiti after it is moved from its origin to the streets,” MC Yan said in an interview.

If you look closely you will find fun details of the face of the Emperor of Kowloon on the back of the tiny Lego figures. Yan explained in another interview, “I feel like there can be a new discussion space for this public art as a graffiti artist.” Since people might not fully get the meaning of the street art when it is turned into an art piece displayed in an indoor gallery, to help people understand his work, MC Yan will provide tours whenever he is around in the afternoon at the exhibition.

“Every time I paint, I will first draw a wall, and then I will do graffiti or invite others to draw on the wall,” said Yan. This time he drew Chinese graffiti directly on the wall of the room. This made the audience feel like they were walking in the streets of old China and seeing the time traveler Yan’s graffiti on it while standing in the hallway. What’s even cooler is that it glows at night or when lights are switched off

The words 勁抽 together means kickass, but it also has another meaning of 抽水, which is plumbing, and in the right context can also mean piggyback or newsjacking. MC Yan has stated that in addition to The King of Kowloon, the Plumber King is also one of the biggest influences on his graffiti work, so the name of the exhibition once again plays on this homage. Seefood Room is also an interesting name for Cantonese speakers, as it sounds like seafood in English, and 屎窟 [Ass] in Canto slang. Ever the humorous provocateur, MC Yan certainly had some fun naming this exhibition.

With Kowloon Kickass, MC Yan and curator Professor Kevin Tsui are using diverse materials [such as Legos] and platforms to present graffiti in multiple ways, including 2D, 3D, conceptual artwork, and the use of light and shadow throughout the two floors. They aim to highlight “What happens to the graffiti after it is moved from its origin to the streets,” MC Yan said.If you look closely, you will find clever details of the face of the King of Kowloon on the back of the tiny Lego figures.

Yan explains, “I feel like there can be a new discussion space for this public art as a graffiti artist.” To help people fully understand the meaning of his street art displayed in the context of a gallery, MC Yan will provide tours on some afternoons when he is at the exhibition.

“Every time I paint, I will first draw a wall, and then I will do graffiti or invite others to draw on the wall,” said Yan. This time he drew Chinese graffiti directly on the wall of the room. This made the audience feel like they were walking in the streets of old China and seeing the time traveler Yan’s graffiti on it. An added dimension is that the paint glows at night or when lights are switched off.

His clever conceptualized artworks blend different ages of Chinese culture with modern graffiti. One example is his use of graffiti to express and mimic the ancient techniques of engraving. “It was popular to do oil-dripping to express the gravity on the vertical surface of the work as a billboard,” Yan said.

“Lately I’ve changed my personal tag into a surveillance camera, as I discovered after doing this for so many years, the fun part of drawing the enemy of graffiti is that people would wonder whether you are doing a sign or graffiti, and give you more time to do your work. This is one way to express the rebellious spirit of street art,” he added.

Due to popular demand, the show has now been extended so the Kowloon Kickass will stay up for another week, until July 3. There are also unique pieces of merchandise created by MC Yan for sale at the space. If you’re lucky you could get a guided tour and a gift.

For more information, check out their official website here.