Project Description

2007

White cotton T-shirt with cross-stitched Braille font in white.
White cotton T-Shirt, Stitch Thread

In November 2007, the Hong Kong police arrested 18 people from the lifestyle store GOD for producing a T-shirt with triad connotation: a T-shirt bearing the Chinese characters associated with a triad group 14K. The creative industry was furious, critising the police for overreacting and violating creative freedom. In respond to that the exhibtion 14qk was initiated by Yeung Yang featuring more than 20 artworks, held at ParaSite art space.

The Untouchable is a T-shirt made for the contemporary free thinker that is not necessarily blind. T-shirt is a woman’s garment, white cotton with a white cross stitched pattern on the left chest side. The cross stitches encode 14K in Braille font. However, the white on white pattern is hardly visible for the eye, almost unachievable to be read. The intrigued has to touch the Braille in order to read it. Though, the placement of the words are touchingly precarious, a woman’s breast should not be touched in public. As a result the message remains unrevealed, private. Anyway, it seems not all the words can be said in Hong Kong, some (artistic) expressions have to be remain untouchable.

To be seen in the exhibition 14qk at ParaSite art space, Hong Kong,in November 2007.