Be Water

“Be Water” was a mantra of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement in 2019. The leaderless movement adopted this famous slogan from the Hong Kong/American martial artist Bruce Lee:

“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own and let it grow. Be water.”

The large and ongoing protests were extremely fast moving and fluid. Protesters claimed they could arrive quickly like an unsuspecting flood and disperse suddenly like steam - which made it difficult for the police to predict their movements.

This series of thousands of protesters meandering through the streets of Hong Kong explores the protesters’ embodiment of the ‘Be Water’ slogan.