New fashion and art magazine on Hong Kong identity avoids words altogether
- For its launch edition, experimental publication Yep Yep asked nine Hong Kong contributors to express their relationships with the city through photographs
- Its memorable launch cover features genderfluid bodybuilder Siufung Law, resplendent in heavy make-up and donning a purple long wig and fake nails
A new magazine is taking a bold and novel approach to the politically sensitive discussion of Hong Kong identity: by avoiding words altogether.
Yep Yep is an experimental fashion and art magazine which, for its launch edition, has asked nine Hong Kong contributors to express their relationships with the city through photographs.
There is a brief statement of intent on the first two pages that sets the tone for the dozens of pages of uncaptioned images that follow, with the only other text being the titles of the eight individual projects and the names of the artists in charge of each.
“Hong Kong has been at the forefront of global news but probably not for the right reasons,” the statement says in English and Chinese. “… To the outside world Hong Kong may seem broken and divided – a city at odds with itself. What people can’t see, despite the pandemic and political drama, is that we’re still a vibrant, thriving cultural playground.”
The one-person team behind the whole magazine is Kenny X. Li, a Singapore-born fashion photographer and creative director who grew up in Hong Kong. He wants to provide a new kind of platform on which local talents can collaborate, and to bring much-needed light relief to the people who live in the city.
“The name Yep Yep is inspired by the Yip Yip Martians on Sesame Street, which I used to watch as a child. These aliens would show up and they’d go ‘yep yep yep yep…’. It makes no sense but it’s memorable, playful and not too serious, which is the identity I want to give the magazine,” he explains.
