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Artist inspired by Occupy joins Sham Shui Po market fight
Angela Su recently led fashion models and textile vendors on a protest march. It was new territory for a woman whose art has often been confrontational but rarely collaborative
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It is the Sunday after Christmas and a surreal scene is unfolding in the heart of Sham Shui Po.
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Models wearing elaborate couture strut through the streets, accompanied by a ragtag band of musicians sounding like they are straight out of New Orleans. Following closely are a group of mostly silver-haired protesters waving banners with phrases such as “I want to buy cheap cloth”.
This is a mobile fashion show in support of the rabbit warren that is Hong Kong’s most atmospheric fabric and accessories market.
The 38-year-old Yen Chow Street Hawker Bazaar is probably the only place in the city where someone experimenting with a design idea can ask for half a yard of tweed without being spat at. But the government says it is a health-and-safety nightmare and needs to come down. The stallholders – the ones with the banners – fear they will have nowhere to go.
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