Under what circumstances can a banana be an instrument of peace, and why should the newly minted Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Rosanna Law Shuk-pui, care about the answer to that question?
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A satirical artwork called Comedian comprising nothing more than a banana taped to a wall was recently auctioned for an astonishing US$6.2 million. Subsequently, its new owner brought it to Hong Kong and ate it in a publicity stunt. If its artist, Maurizio Cattelan, intended to ridicule conceptions of value in art, then he arguably succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.
Perhaps this is all too easily dismissed as a lighthearted human-interest story with somewhat ridiculous overtones, but there are indeed serious observations to be drawn from these events. Hong Kong’s policymakers and civic leaders who are under pressure to develop the economic potential of the city’s cultural appeal should take note.
The point is that art and popular culture – even the most abstract, ambiguous or absurd – have the potential to cut through news cycles and the torrent of human conflict and misery that comes with them, to generate a softer but nevertheless powerful type of human curiosity.
An instructive example was the heyday of mainland Chinese fascination for Taiwan pop culture, especially from 2008 to 2016, which heralded much common ground in otherwise fraught cross-strait relations. This connection has now diminished and, not surprisingly, so too has the cross-strait relationship.
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Getting back to the artwork in question, during the same week that Comedian captured global headlines after getting eaten in Hong Kong, the city’s government released its Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development. The coincidence should not be lost on Secretary Law as she considers how to successfully execute her vitally important mission.
Chinese-born cryptocurrency founder Justin Sun eats “Comedian”, an artwork composed of a fresh banana stuck to a wall with duct tape, in Hong Kong on November 29. Photo: AFP
