Traveller, journalist and artist Luís Simões shares his experiences of sketching the Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong
Travelling to 29 countries in the past two years and a half years, Portuguese artist Luís Simões has been sketching his journeys in watercolours all along the way. The prolific traveller has drawn over a thousand sketches on his World Sketching Tour, which has received wonderful responses and lots of media attention. More recently, he has been documenting the Occupy Central protests in his own unique way.
Looking over the protest site filled with colourful tents, banners with witty and critical slogans, young people reading and talking at study corners, and visitors snapping photos of the scene, Luís describes his firsthand experiences at the protest as he flips through the pages of his sketchbook.
Everyday, he visits the protest sites at Admiralty and Mong Kok and sketches the people and vibe around him. He sees a very different Hong Kong now.
“Hong Kong is very money oriented. People try to get as much as they can. Sometimes when you spend your money so fast, you can forget why you’re living here.”
However, during the protest, he has seen people are changing: “Now I can see people talking to each other about how they feel.”
When showing a sketch of crowds in Causeway Bay, the artist recalls what he saw on the day after the tear gas was used to disperse the crowds.
“I was surprised and shocked by what I saw. There was a big change in Causeway Bay. Many people were sitting on the floor. It was silent and the moment was tense,” he says.
By speaking to and connecting with many locals, Luís can tell that Hong Kong people want change, a better quality of life and freedom of speech. What also fascinates him is the protesters’ fight for democracy and their awareness of their own identity.
“This [Occupy Central] shows people have a voice. They were afraid before, because they had to say ‘yes’ to the system. Now they can come here to say how they feel,” he says. “There is no leader here, you can be yourself. They [Hong Kong people] are in the process of getting their identity. I love the fact that they’re fighting for democracy. That’s what I treasure as an artist.”
During his time on the ground, the artist has been talking to a lot of protesters and has had some interesting encounters. Luís met William, a 16-year-old boy who hurries to one of the protest sites after school everyday. At first, William’s parents would not allow him to attend the protest, but he insisted nonetheless. He found it important to talk to people as it helped him think about the issues and see the big picture. In the end, his father let him choose to do what he wanted. Luís says what touched him the most about meeting William was seeing this young person fighting for his rights and beliefs.
Luís also met a 24-year-old nurse providing first aid at a tent in Mong Kok specially set up for the injured. The nurse wanted to help and very shortly realised she really was born to do this job. She told Luís that helping people made her very happy, and she had truly found herself in the experience. All these encounters and interactions have inspired and moved Luís very much, he says.
Looking at the neatly pitched tents at Admiralty, the artist observes, “In the beginning, everything was not that organised. There were not many tents or good supplies. However, people were helping each other by bringing food and water. I haven’t seen that in Hong Kong before.”
Being a regular at the protest sites, some people now recognise Luís and enjoy watching him sketch. One day, someone said to him, “Thank you for supporting us.” The artist admits that he did not realise he was supporting the movement until he heard this comment. Then he wanted to sketch more and show the world what is happening in Hong Kong.
Luís is not the only person who has reflected the protests with artwork and when asked what he thinks of other art created during the protest, he comments, “It’s interesting to see what they feel through their artwork. For me as an artist, that is inspiring and overwhelming. I feel even more connected.”
Luís notes that the displaying of these different pieces not only allows the artists to see how people react to their works, but also presents rich variety and deep messages, including the umbrella-shaped origami, yellow ribbons and the Umbrella Man.
Talking about the latter piece, the artist says he is impressed by its simplicity and directness: “It’s just so simple. No showing-off of anything fancy.”
Reflecting on his sketches in general, Luís admits he can see a change in the choice of topics across his thousands of sketches.
“When I started, I was sketching iconic buildings and urban landscapes without people around. Then I understood more and used different ways of sketching. Now what I want is to tell a story,” he says. “As a journalist, you need to ask questions and are able to document interesting things. And I love to tell stories.”
