Something about curved lines with a cheeky twist makes you stop in your tracks walking down the street in Hong Kong. It’s easy to be desensitised to the world these days, but it’s still possible to be surprised by street artist Lousy’s drawings, which might fool you at first glance with their subversive simplicity. His are a clever take on surrealism served with a knowing wink on the side, from his signature “kiss face” once plastered on a doorway in Peel Street to his primal, hieroglyph-like sketches of floating eyes, stick figures and more to be found in nondescript locations across the city.Lousy street art often melds into its surroundings on Hong Kong’s streets. Photo: Handout“It’s fun to be ‘lousy’,” the born-and-bred Hongkonger tells me over the phone ahead of a busy month of events, as art fever sweeps the city with the 11th edition of HK Walls – Hong Kong’s biggest street art festival – Art Central and Art Basel all in close succession. “Let’s put it that way. It’s a good tongue-in-cheek mentality. It would sound stupid if my name was ‘pretty,’ right?” he adds.
It would also sound a bit pretentious, attention-seeking, even obnoxious, all of which Lousy – who largely stays as anonymous as his art – is not. The undercover, underworld nature of his work is all part of the persona. That graffiti and street art is technically illegal in Hong Kong, as lousy as that is, only adds to the appeal. “It’s part of being a person – doing some stupid s*** and finding it funny,” the artist quips.
A passer-by poses in front of one of Lousy’s artworks, which can be seen across Hong Kong’s streets. Photo: HandoutWhat Lousy’s art really represents in a place like Hong Kong is the dichotomy of existence and experience. Hidden in plain sight, his artworks capture the city’s attention deficit and sense of hyperactive, orderly chaos with ease; industrial buildings, news-stands and storefront shutters are his canvas, blending into a background where skyscrapers seem to reach for the skies like trees. His graphic designs, as raw and rough around the edges as their surroundings, capture the eye for a second as you walk by, just long enough to make you wonder how they got there.Lousy street artwork on the Remex Centre in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
“Hong Kong is a small place, so there’s actually not a lot of us doing [graffiti art],” he clarifies. “And to be honest, I’m considered lazy on that side. A couple of my mates, or the kids nowadays, they go even harder.” Given the general inclination these days to walk around without looking up from one’s phone, to doom-scroll without thinking, and to live more in the digital world than in physical reality, Lousy’s artwork looks and feels almost like a playful slap in the face, forcing you to pause and think before pulling you into another dimension.
For Lousy himself, though, taking a guerrilla approach to creating art is less about social commentary and more about leaving an unmistakably authentic mark – an artist’s signature, if you will – on the city he calls home. “You’re just self-promoting, basically,” he says. “You’re putting your message out there without all the so-called gatekeeping. You’re doing what you want at your own risk.”
Lousy collaborated with photographer David Leung for the “Double Umami” show at JPS Gallery in Hong Kong. Photo: HandoutLousy’s message – to go all in on your art, without holding back – has since rung loud and clear across Hong Kong, resonating with audiences far beyond the city’s borders. Though the streets still call his name, he’s gotten greater name recognition since the pandemic, when he says Hong Kong really began taking note of local talents like himself. He’s now a regular in rarefied gallery spaces and globally respected art fairs, and has also collaborated with brands ranging from local eyewear label A. Society to the Eaton Hong Kong hotel.
