London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

Hong Kong through artists’ eyes

Hong Kong through artists’ eyes

Hong Kong’s buzzing art and design scene, explored through the eyes of two creatives drawn to practise in the city

Hong Kong is in a state of constant industrial redesign and thrilling artistic transformation. New galleries, stores and street art projects are popping up in the neighbourhoods of West Kowloon, Sham Shui Po and Sheung Wan, building a thriving community of both young talent and established artists.

Buzzing, creatively synergetic clusters of independent start-ups – artisanal businesses specialising in everything from coffee and clothes to jewellery, furniture and baking – punctuate the urban labyrinths of Mong Kok and Sai Ying Pun.

And, as old buildings are repurposed into hip exhibition and studio spaces – such as the Cattle Depot Artist Village in Ma Tau Kok, Kowloon, a former slaughterhouse – traditional and contemporary design is showcased both in world-class galleries and intriguing creative hubs.

Hong Kong’s reputation as an international force in art and design will be underlined by the reinstatement of a busy events schedule, including Art Basel Hong Kong and the new Digital Art Fair.

Meanwhile, local creativity continues to flourish. Old Town Central offers experimental performances inside a converted late-Victorian depot, and the walls on Ki Ling Lane and Chung Ching Street present a heady swirl of continually updated, multi-coloured street art.

It all adds up to an intriguing art and design scene, recognised locally as well as abroad. Here, two international creatives drawn to practise in Hong Kong reflect on what attracted them to the city and continues to thrill and inspire them.

Michael Young, industrial designer

UK-born, Hong Kong-based industrial designer Michael Young set up his studio in the city in 2006. While he specialises in product, furniture and interior design from his studio in Sheung Wan, his practice transcends the very notion of design by harnessing innovative manufacturing skills to create what he calls ‘industrial art’.

‘I work with sophisticated brands that pride themselves with the best technology,’ he explains. ‘When you collaborate with industries of such high standards, people who operate with pride, skill and technique, the work becomes a kind of an art form.’

The city itself is an inspiration. ‘Hong Kong’s diversity of colours, textures, its future-facing architecture and landscapes – it’s a constant stimulation,’ he says.

Though a Hong Kong resident, Young still observes the city from the perspective of an outsider. ‘Initially, I studied a lot of old Chinese architectural structures, which had a big influence on the mathematics we use with the computer work on our more decorative pieces,’ he says.


Another early obsession was to explore the ancient art of zhezhi, Chinese paper folding. ‘I saw a simple toy made out of this beautiful craft, which was never really exploited in the arts arena. My objective was to take [zhezhi] out of Asia and present it as a local craft.’ Young used the traditional technique to make larger art objects – clocks, tables and lighting – that caused a minor sensation at the time. ‘Paper folding remains very close to my heart,’ he adds.

Currently planning to launch his own Hong Kong-based brand, Young has found a home for his creativity. The city, he says, offers a dynamic that a designer can ‘connect to, and dance around with’.

For instance, working with interior designer Alexi Robinson, Young helped create furniture and lighting designs for a fashionable Hong Kong Central restaurant, The Night Market, its ambiance referencing the lights, materials and colours of street-food culture. Eating out in Hong Kong, says Young, is both satisfying and creatively inspiring. ‘No one can do outdoor seafood like they do in Hong Kong. It’s just something that is ingrained in the heart and soul of the city.’

Szabotage, graffiti artist


‘As a creative person, moving to Hong Kong felt hugely inspiring,’ says London-born graffiti artist Gustav Szabo, aka Szabotage. ‘Urban art has found its way into the core of the contemporary scene in the city – there are so many fresh ideas and new discoveries within Hong Kong’s culture and urban environment. The city energises me.’

When Szabotage first arrived in Hong Kong, in 2013, the urban art scene was just emerging, enabling a newfound creative freedom that he hadn’t experienced in the UK. It has since evolved into a complex interdisciplinary form of expression. ‘Creatively, Hong Kong is an exciting place to be,’ says the artist. ‘The opportunities have greatly improved since I arrived eight years ago, and there’s been a boom in new art spaces, institutions, galleries and museums.’


In Hong Kong, Szabotage’s vision takes a critical view of its immediate surroundings and often references the landscape of the city, exploring the relationship between local architecture and communities. ‘When I paint on the streets in Hong Kong, I seem to make great connections with people. Live painting draws a lot of interest, and the art crosses many cultural and language barriers. It crosses many boundaries that my lack of Cantonese cannot.’

During his career, Szabotage has collaborated with brands including Louis Vuitton and Evisu, but remains best known for his Hong Kong site-specific street art. Inspired by his surroundings, the artist’s now ubiquitous koi signature, for instance, was born on a wall back in 2013.

‘The koi is a part of me, a symbol with which I strongly identify. The koi is jumping out of water, out of its comfort zone, from water to air. There’s a sense of jubilation in its movement. The fish is slightly out of context in the urban environment, but it has a powerful and energetic life force, as demonstrated by its ability to swim upstream, against currents.’ Szabotage says he can relate to all these challenges and emotions.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
×