‘So ugly’: luxury brands’ monogram fashion mocked in fake campaigns inspired by Hong Kong, where ‘everything is about money’
- Artist, cheongsam designer and drag performer Scotty So’s photo series was inspired by people in Hong Kong wearing top-to-toe luxury monogram fashion
- He moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2018 to make art celebrating the historic Chinese fashion and music that he loves, but he now also explores other ideas
As a child, Hong Kong-born artist Scotty So would marvel at the glamorous photos of his grandmother and great-grandmother from the 1950s that hung on the walls of his family home in Lam Tin.
He loved their immaculate hair and make-up – and most of all, their cheongsams.
He now makes his own cheongsams, which he wears for his drag performances at bars and galleries in Melbourne. After moving to the Australian city in 2018, he has emerged as one of the rising stars of its contemporary art scene.
So has eight exhibitions coming up in Australia and internationally in 2023. They include a solo show at Footscray Community Art Centre in Melbourne, from February 14 to June 14; the group exhibition “Melbourne Now” at the National Gallery of Victoria, opening on March 24, which celebrates the best young artists working in the city; and a group exhibition with Mars Gallery at the Photo London fair in May.
His early life in Hong Kong shapes almost all his art, much of which explores the role of clothes in shaping – and broadcasting – identity.