Spraying the walls, feeds and laws: Graffiti as memetic technologies of contentious politics

Abstract

This study examines alternative media (i.e., graffiti) use in contesting the public sphere in the context of the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests. Utilizing the observation method and a theoretical framework of (hybrid) mediation opportunity structure we demonstrate that the protesters have utilized graffiti and street art as the circuit for messages of political resistance in both the material and virtual world. Streets and walls were treated as an extension of the digital sphere by employing graffiti as a memetic means of self-mediation and political resistance in the city.