Tales of 'Kowloon King': 'King of Kowloon' solo exhibition

Tales of "Kowloon King"- Solo Exhibition of "King of Kowloon"

Lucie Chang Fine Arts is pleased to present - Tales of "Kowloon King" a solo exhibition of Tsang Tsou Choi (a.k.a King of Kowloon). In this solo exhibition, we will present a number of his unique and legendary pop culture works under the theme of "The King of Kowloon" for the audience to enjoy. Through the exhibition, we hope to share his lesser-known story and his cultural values

Artist

Tsang Tsou Choi (a.k.a "King of Kowloon")

Born in Guangzhou in 1921, Tsang Tsou Choi traveled to Hong Kong as a poor, barely literate teenager. After discovering some important ancestral documents, Tsang claimed that the land of Kowloon belonged to his family, thereby adopting the title “King of Kowloon”.

Family features prominently in Tsang's art. He would often detail his lineage, listing the names of his ancestors all the way back to the original landowner, demonstrating his rightful inheritance of the land in Kowloon. His wife also frequently appears in his works as “The Empress”. One work reads: “ The Empress Man Fook-Choi has just come back from a meeting with the British Queen”.

Although only three of his public works have not been destroyed, rebuilt, eroded, or covered, his influential practice left an enduring legacy: He represented Hong Kong at the Venice Biennale in 2003, and his works were exhibited in the Hong Kong Pavilion. In addition, his works were also exhibited in Daejeon Fine Arts in 2019 and Tai Kwun in 2021. His works are also being shown in Google Virtual Museum and sold at Sotheby's auctions. After his death, the government kept the cement pillar at the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui and the calligraphy on the lamp post next to the Temple of the Lords of the Three Mountains in Ping Shek Village. In addition, M+, a new visual culture museum in Hong Kong, also exhibits and collects his artworks.

Artworks

Over the years, he has created his own graffiti-style calligraphy, using the Chinese traditional "Four Treasures of Study" （文房四寶） brush and ink to write on public objects such as walls, bridge piers, traffic light control boxes, and lamp posts in the cosmopolitan city of Hong Kong.

His graffiti is primarily a political indictment of the colonial system, with a secondary focus on the emotional expression of his ancestors and family members.

Graffiti Calligraphy

Ink on print material

21 x 29.5 cm

2001-2003

Occasionally, he would write two large Chinese characters "國皇". His actions have been interpreted by the public as a sign of insanity, but after a decade of graffiti writing, his perseverance has finally gained recognition and become a common urban cultural memory for generations of Hong Kong people. Through his writing and perseverance, Tsang conveys the message of the Chinese people's indomitable and peace-loving spirit.

Graffiti Calligraphy

Marker on rice paper

73 x 50 cm

2004-2006

In the work of the 'King of Kowloon,' family members play an important role. In order to prove his lawful inheritance of the land in Kowloon, he frequently recounts his ancestry, stating his forefather's names all the way back to the original landowners. Man Fook-Choi, his wife, also appears as 'the empress' in his paintings.