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HKwalls has just wrapped up its 2024 street art festival, which spanned nine consecutive days and united 32 artists from overseas, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. The festival created 41 murals in outdoor locations across Central and Western Districts, Wan Chai, and Tsim Sha Tsui. As part of this year’s festival, French artist Seth Globepainter was invited to paint with a distinct significance and message to communicate.
Seth Globepainter is recognised worldwide for his amazing style, which explores many fictional worlds and faceless characters with emotional depth and a strong emphasis on storytelling with playful and inspiring messages.
Image courtesy of the artist and photographer Daniel Murray
In this editorial, we’ll take a closer look at Seth’s murals for this year’s HKWalls as he paints five pieces across the festival.
Cage Home / Maison Cage
Cage homes are an inexpensive accommodation popular among low-income individuals in many densely populated cities worldwide. These homes are essentially a series of stacked beds, each surrounded by a metal fence, which offers a modicum of privacy and safety to the tenant’s possessions. Access to each bed or cage house is available through a door cut into the mesh, providing the occupants with some degree of autonomy despite the cramped living quarters. However, the living conditions in these homes are not ideal, and the lack of proper facilities, such as kitchens and bathrooms, makes daily life a struggle for the tenants.
Seth shares that according to reports in 2017, around 200,000 people still lived in this type of accommodation. Seth’s murals create awareness and highlight the struggles of many people living in these conditions .
Image courtesy of the artist and photographer Kyra Campbell
Fly Away /S’envoler
Seth’s ‘Fly Away’ inspiration stemmed from the Kau U Fong children’s playground adjacent to the side of the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel, where he painted this mural. The mural shows a painted child on a tree swing, appearing to gaze up in awe as the girl on the neighbouring swing soars high up into the sky. The foreground of the mural features a tangible children’s slide that seamlessly blends with the visual illusion, resulting in a lifelike effect. Seth’s artistic talent and ingenuity are fully displayed in this playful mural.
Image courtesy of the artist and photographer Kyra Campbell
Playful Murals
Seth’s playfulness in his HKwalls murals continues as he creates a hopscotch mural on the side of Shu Coffee in Sheung Wan. Additionally, he paints a mural depicting a girl lounging in a hammock and watering a solitary green shoot with her watering can, adding a touch of tranquillity and nature to the urban landscape.
Image courtesy of the artist and photographer Kyra Campbell
Seth’s artistic intervention on the side of Katana is located near the mid-level escalators and can be viewed from the inside levels. The mural portrays a girl propelled up the escalators by a gust of wind and her vibrant rainbow umbrella, creating a whimsical and enchanting visual effect. Seth’s artistic imagination shines through in this playful mural.
Image courtesy of the artist and photographer Victor Tong (top) Kyra Campbell
Seth’s artistic versatility and ability to convey a range of emotions and atmospheres through his imaginative murals is what he does best. Each mural not only highlights his creativity but also inspires viewers to embrace life with a playful and positive outlook.
