Back To My Roots! Hong Kong Street Art - King of Kowloon

Since our blog covers a lot of street artists from the US and Europe, I figure it's about time I pay tribute to the one street artist that's iconic to Hong Kong.




For those that have been to Hong Kong, you have probably seen his work on various street lamps, telephone poles, and walls of HK. He calls himself the "King of Kowloon."




Here's a short story of how it all began. Mr Tsang Tsou-Chio, also known as the King of Kowloon, had been writing graffiti in Hong Kong since he was 35 years old. He had been arrested and locked up for vandalism when he smashed the windows of a police office with a rock. Rumor had it that when he was young, he found a document stating that his ancestors owned majority of the land in Kowloon before Hong Kong was given to the Great Britain after the Opium War. His obsession with proving that Kowloon actually belongs to his family has caused his wife and family to leave him. That was the reason why he walked all over hong kong leaving his marks on telephone poles and street lamps trying to convince people that he really was the "King of Kowloon."



Most of the things he wrote consisted of his name, his title "King of Kowloon", his family members, and occasionally his rants on the queen of England.


During the 90s, people started to appreciate his dense yet orderly lined style of calligraphy. His work had been featured on album covers, magazines, and Television. Sadly, Tsang died of a heart attack in July 15, 2007 , at the age of 86.

pic via. http://www.pbase.com/frankomania/tsang