On 19th November 2014, I spent 0900-1200hrs roaming through the #OccupyCentral sites at Causeway Bay and Admiralty during a short layover in Hong Kong. This is my attempt at curating some of the movement’s organic semiotics, meme innovation, place-making, and performative resistance. This post follows up on The Anatomy of a Social Media(ted) Protest: #OccupyCentral on Instagram. See also An organic #OccupyCentral timeline on-site at Admiralty. Shot on an iPhone 5, unedited. Image Heavy.
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01 Agentic Cute
Totoro
Manga
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Print posters
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Hand drawn cartoons
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02 Popular Culture Appropriation
Materialism
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Pop music
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Starwars, Terminator, Spiderman, Silversurfer, Gundam, Toy Story
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Mr Men and Little Miss
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Mind the gap
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Banksy remix
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03 Religious and Political Appropriation
Religious figures
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Emblems of activism: Amnesty International, Anonymous, Au San Suu Kyi, Viva la France
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The UK crew
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The HKG crew
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04 Chinese Folklore Appropriation
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05 Creative Enterprise
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06 DIY Resistance
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07 Paper Power
Origami
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Post-it gallery
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News parody
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HSBC parody
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Meme heaven
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Chinese wordplay
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Flyers
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Hand-drawn graphics
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Hand-written word
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A4 posters
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08 Wave-riding Artists
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09 The watched are watching the watchers
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10 Self-archive
Admiralty MTR collage
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Political map
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FAQ
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Causeway Bay on-site timeline
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Admiralty on-site timeline [see full transcription here]
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11 Cross-platform sharing of content
Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
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QR codes
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Mass produced stickers
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Television news
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Local Press
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International Press
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12 Place-making
Barricades
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Furniture
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Plants
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Makeshift shelter
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Statement shelter
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Tent decor
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Rows and rows of tents
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Juxtaposed against skyscrapers
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13 Grid politics
Legalese and terminology
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Officious transport notices
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Media stand
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MTR paper sprawl
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McDonald’s paper sprawl
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International passersby
Text:
‘STAND FIRM BE PROUD
CANADIANS ARE AMONG U
CONTINUE FIGHTING FOR
WHAT RIGHTFULLY
BELONGS TO YOU!’
Added in ink and pencil scribbles:
‘+AUSTRALIANS!
and 1 Norwegian
+German
+FRENCH <3
+British!
+USA
+MEXICANS
+SINGAPOREAN
+West PHILLY
+HARLEM
+Malaysia
Not for me’
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14 Self-regulating ecology
Agriculture
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Loan systems
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Space structuration
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Routing traffic
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Essentials: Phone charging station, study group, washroom facilities
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Rules
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15 Survival guide
First aid centre, suggested attire and safety essentials, complaint bureau.
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Have you been at any of the #OccupyCentral nodes? What other semiotics and ecological organizations have you seen? Beep me!