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Graffiti artist Invader back in Hong Kong, and this time he's invited

French street artist holds show at PMQ as part of Le French May called Wipe Out, with as its theme the government's destruction of the art he created on last visit to city

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French street artist Invader with a space invader mosaic.

anonymous French street artist known only as "Invader" was in Hong Kong, in early 2014, he placed more than 35 of his little tiled images of video game characters (as well as Bruce Lee and Hong Kong Phooey) on public walls all round the city. Every single one of them was removed and destroyed by the government.

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This time Invader is returning as a guest of the French consulate, as part of Le French May, and if he is planning any unsolicited invasions onto Hong Kong walls while he's here, he's not saying a word. "I'm sad and affected by this big 'wipe out'," he says in an email interview.

However, rather than being set back by it he has decided to let it inspire him instead. In fact it is the main theme of his upcoming Hong Kong show, which is co-organised by the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Foundation and will run at PMQ between May 2 and 17.

"This show, called 'Wipe Out' is going to be amazing," he promises.

He's been working on it for a full year. It will include photos and a map of his 2014 "invasion" of Hong Kong, as well as documentation of what it looked like after the pieces were ripped off the walls. There will also be some new works linked with the subject, and a book, the guide, with the story of his work in Hong Kong.

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The Hong Kong Phooey artwork in Happy Valley that was destroyed by the government.
The Hong Kong Phooey artwork in Happy Valley that was destroyed by the government.

Invader (whose real identity remains a secret) was a boy when Space Invaders machines started appearing in bars in France in the late 1970s and early '80s. "It was cool," he recalls. "I particularly loved the minimalism of the sounds and their hypnotic repetition, going faster and faster during each wave of the game."

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