People: Mr. Henry Wong

Given how antisocial I tend to be, I'm not sure if there will be many more posts under this 'people' heading. But that doesn't mean there are plenty of interesting individuals out in Hong Kong to meet. One of them would be Mr. Henry Wong, who also signs his work as 本地薑 (translates roughly as 'Local Ginger'.) 

I met him by chance back in May 2011, during a random visit to Wooferten in Yau Ma Tei, and encountered him during protests and other events around the city. He is a good representative of the mindset for many Hong Kong people; maintaining a day job but also yearning to find an outlet to express their political viewpoints. Mr. Wong chose to fulfil the latter need by creating witty and humourous t-shirts.

Each shirt is produced in limited numbers, and is specific to the happenings in Hong Kong at a given time. For example, there was a shirt for the salt-buying-scare during the Fukushima radiation leak in March 2011, and another covering the Chief Executive elections this March and April. The images aren't abstract, nor are they literal; it requires the use of brain cells to interpret the layers of meaning and Chinese wordplay. (Which is a difficult for me, since my Cantonese is bad enough on the surface level without even delving into the world of Chinese puns.) If one ever have the fortune to encounter Mr. Wong, he'll be more than happy give a step-by-step explanation to anyone who is interested. Though he would prefer if one took a stab and attempted to interpret it first; and one should do so, since we already live in a culture where images give us instant gratification. Being made to think for ourselves is a refreshing reversion to the pre-mass media and pre-advertising image proliferation days....


Mr. Wong will attend certain protests and events where he sells his shirts. There isn't a fixed price on them, since profit and money isn't his motivation. During the last encounter, he told a small group of youths that he spent roughly 40,000 HKD on this endeavour already, and will continue to do so because it is his 'hobby' and something he is truly passionate for. And he is sincere about his lack of emphasis on money; in my experience, he has never pestered anyone with immediate payment. (Though it doesn't mean he is flippant about money either; I gave him 20 HKD ages ago, and he still remembers-- even though I had forgotten-- and gave me some of his shirts this April. It is nice to know that there are still people in such an urban and mechanical city that can bring 'trust' into their interactions with others.) 

It is worth mentioning that the imagery is all drawn by Mr. Wong, who has had no formal training in the arts or with illustration. Which shows that no matter who one is, or what background one has had, does nothing to thwart the ability to contribute towards the city's diverse array of political voices.