A string of ignominious episodes in history tell of those who recognised the unique power of creative expression and sought to crush it. Again and again, it’s been judged an enemy of subjugation and a mortal danger to despots. A clear case is the Chinese Communist Party’s repression of its peoples’ right to freedom of expression. This has been widely documented, from the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre and the more recent Uyghur genocide in Xinjiang to the countless number of writers and artists locked up in jails or under house arrest.
However, few realise that its ceaseless attempts to stifle all criticism of the party and country extend beyond its borders, including into Europe. According to Freedom House, the CPP is currently conducting the most sophisticated, global campaign of transnational repression in the world.
We partnered up with Index on Censorship on Banned by Beijing, a project seeking to raise awareness of the CCP’s subversion of freedom of expression in Europe by creating a repository of reports, articles and other resources that will enable us to understand the extent to which we need to protect our fundamental rights and our democracies from Chinese interference. At St John’s Waterloo, we focused on artists and musicians who have been subject to repression outside of the Chinese borders.
Launched on Tuesday 27th June 2023, the Banned by Beijing exhibition highlighted the CCP’s transnational repression in Europe by and through the works and stories of dissident artists. It not only warned but also celebrated those who, whilst in forced exile, keep facing down the long arm of censorship with the vigour of artistic expression.
Artists
巴丢草 Badiucao is a Chinese political cartoonist and human rights activist. Badiucao has been subject to multiple efforts to discredit him and censor his work. In 2021, the Chinese Embassy in Italy warned that if an exhibition in which his work was being shown went ahead it would “endanger” Italy and China’s good relations and posters for the exhibition were vandalised.
ig: @badiucao
淋漓淋浪 Lumli Lumlong are a husband and wife painting duo, whose artwork focuses on social issues, particularly human rights and authoritarianism. They left Hong Kong for the UK in the summer of 2021 after they were accused by the press of promoting Hong Kong independence. Their book, “Liberation of Art”, has been banned in Hong Kong. Even while in Europe, they have been subject to efforts to intimidate them and interfere with their work.
ig: @lumlilumlong_
vawongsir is a cartoonist and former secondary school visual arts teacher in Hong Kong. He created cartoons reflecting the 2019 protests that were widely shared by the Hong Kong community at home and abroad. In 2020, he faced disciplinary action over a series of political cartoons deemed “inappropriate” by the Education Bureau in Hong Kong. He continues to make and share art about Hong Kong in exile.
ig: @vawongsir
The exhibition was curated by our Artistic Director, Euchar Gravina, in collaboration with the artists and Index on Censorship. it was produced by Index on Censorship and St John’s Waterloo.
The exhibition was launched by a concert featuring Rahima Mahmut and the London Silk Road Collective to a full-house at St John’s. Rahima is director of the World Uyghur Congress (UK) and the lead vocalist of the London Silk Road Collective. Despite having lived in the UK since 2000, Rahima continues to be subject to efforts to silence her and discredit her work in defence of human rights. She will speak about her experience and perform with her band.
The event also featured a powerful speech by Badiucao, available below.
In partnership with Index on Censorship.
Index on Censorship is a UK-based nonprofit that campaigns for and defends freedom of expression worldwide. We work with censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech. Index’s aim is to raise awareness about threats to free expression and the value of free speech as the first step to tackling censorship.
