At first glance, the office desk could belong to any Chinese executive — an ashtray, mini-flags, a golden sculpture inscribed with the character for “integrity” and a picture of a local celebrity.

Instead, it is part of a defiant art show challenging Hong Kong’s stuffy power structures, held in an office tower at the heart of a finance district famous for its long hours and cut-throat competition.

The group exhibition — named “RE:Urgent” in mockery of corporate-speak — is meant to “subvert the office space that we are working in every day,” said curator Renee Lui, managing director of Young Soy Gallery.

Photo: AFP

The exhibition mirrors a workspace, with four artists given a standard office cubicle to present their work in, and one displaying in the boss’ office. “This is sort of a really rigid space that people (wouldn’t normally) see as being able to contain creative ideas,” Lui said.

The main office is occupied by artist Dominic Johnson-Hill, whose idiosyncratic desktop was inspired by his 28 years doing business in Beijing.

“I went to a lot of bosses’ offices,” he said. “I really wanted to sort of copy a lot of that paraphernalia.”

Photo: AFP

His displayed pieces include a surreal digital wall clock, which tells time in an eerie, robotic voice. Next to its numbers is a picture of people looking down at their phones whilst queuing to enter a coffin store.

Johnson-Hill came across such traditional shops in a Hong Kong neighborhood and was inspired to create the piece, which he said poked fun at aimless work culture.

“I thought how wonderful it would be to see people dressed in office attire queuing… [it is] a ridiculous idea that was quite playful,” he said.

Photo: AFP

In another cubicle, artist Riya Chandiramani sits role-playing as an “unpaid intern” who dreams of starting a feminist revolution. In a painting, she imagines herself as the Hindu goddess, Kali, forced into a treacherous game of snakes and ladders set in the workplace.

“The numbers also represent ages, and so there is also that aspect of women not being allowed to age,” Chandiramani said.

The show is taking place during Hong Kong’s “Art Month,” headlined by art fairs that draw wealthy buyers from around the world.

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However, gallery co-founder Shivang Jhunjhnuwala said he decided to ditch the fairs after two years because of high exhibition costs and “a lack of confidence in the art market.”

The show is pushing against the mainstream in its thematic matter too. In one corner, almost unnoticed, is a palm-sized paper cutout of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), trapped within multiple frames, by pseudonymous artist Louie Jaubere. “The people are not in control of what the state dictates,” the artist said, “but it is not targeted at China; it generally represents government or state control.”

Hong Kong’s freedom of expression and political rights have been whittled away since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020 after large and sometimes violent protests the year before. At the show’s opening, retired architect Serena Chan said she appreciated the show’s sense of humor.

“The other rebels are all gone,” she said. “Rebels in art are probably still allowed, so let’s have more of that.”