The photograph "Graffiti King" was shot in Hong Kong in 1996 by Montreal photographer Serge Clement. Serge Clement made frequent trips to Hong Kong and China from 1995 to 1999 and has produced many memorable photographs. Based on these images he edited and published a monograph entitled "Fragrant Light" in 2000.
The image "Graffiti King" is one of the photographs collected in "Fragrant Light". It has documented Tseng Tso Choi - nicknamed "King of Kowloon"'s unofficial public work. Tseng was one of the former British colony's most infamous citizens. He is thought to be mentally unbalanced because he believes that Kowloon is his by ancestral right, stolen by Queen Victoria, and has spent over 40 years writing about this claim on public walls, posts and cable boxes. Though he is considered by many a public nuisance but he gets notice from the art world and his unique calligraphic style has inspired artists, fashion designers, interior decorators, and most of all invited some important curators' gaze. Tseng was featured in the 50th Venice Biennial in 2003 and a piece of wood he painted fetched US$1,100 at an auction.
A note to this photograph: On the lower corner is Tseng Tso Choi's bag and it is Tseng Tso Choi's shadow on the wall filled with his scrawlings.
Canadian born Serge Clement is active as a photographer since 1975. His work has been exhibited internationally, in Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and Hong Kong. He has five monographs published since the nineties: Cite fragile (1992), Halloween 95, Montreal, Quebec (1997), Vertige-Vestige (1998), Fragrant Light (2000) and Sutures (2003). Some of Clement's work can be seen in collections such as the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, The Musee de la Photographie Charleroi, the Museum of Quebec in Quebec City and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
