Umbrella Movement - Research

The Umbrella Movement research focused on the spatial traces of Hong Kong’s 2014 pro-democracy protests, which began on 26 September at the Central Government Complex in Admiralty and rapidly extended to Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. While a protest cannot exist without the presence of people, over the eleven weeks of occupation a wide range of installations, functions, and messages emerged, anchoring the protest within the daily life of the city. Tents, barricades, and circulation infrastructures appeared alongside cinemas, first-aid stations, study corners, and press stands, while banners and walls became carriers of collective voices. By recording and mapping these physical traces in successive phases, the research revealed how an eight-lane expressway and two shopping districts were transformed into meaningful public spaces. Although the sites have since been erased, this work remains as a physical testimony to the traces the protest inscribed in collective memory and, metaphorically, in the city itself.