Lumli Lumlong: Hong Kong Artists In Exile Create ‘Grotesque’ Oil Paintings Depicting ‘Terrifying’ Realities

Artists Lumli and Lumlong, 40, were born in Hong Kong where they grew up in poverty and each of their mothers worked very hard to support their families.

Lumli and Lumlong’s mothers died of cancer when they were teenagers, and their experiences of loss and resilience inspired their artistic journeys.

“We were both born into working-class families and grew up in cramped, subdivided flats,” Lumli Lumlong said.

“Due to poverty, both of our mothers had to work extremely hard to support the family, and both later died of cancer.

“This early loss shaped our learning about hardship and resilience.

“Our previous generation fled from China to Hong Kong to escape persecution during the Cultural Revolution, which made us understand the value of freedom from a very young age.”

Lumli and Lumlong first met when they were studying design at the age of 17 and began dating soon after they bumped into each other by chance after they graduated.

Since 2015 they have been co-creating ‘grotesque oil paintings’ on a night-shift-day-shift basis; Lumlong paints the left side during the day shift and Lumli paints the right side during the night shift.

Each piece of art depicts a social reality experienced by those who have been marginalised and oppressed.

They attribute Lumli’s mother’s and Lumlong’s grandfather’s revolutionary spirits as inspiration for their art.

“Lumli’s mother was a woman with a revolutionary spirit,” Lumli Lumlong said.

“Despite growing up in poverty, she started working in a factory at a young age to support her family.

“No one encouraged her to study, but she insisted on attending night school after work to gain knowledge, and she even came top of her year.

“When the factory workers went on strike to demand a pay rise, they elected her as their negotiator because she had the highest productivity and never flattered the boss. Later, she started her own business.

“Lumlong’s grandfather was a university professor in China. During the Cultural Revolution, he was publicly humiliated and lived in hardship.

“Yet he remained deeply committed to knowledge and truth. He held strong beliefs and would explain things in great detail, sometimes endlessly, because he didn’t want to be misunderstood.

“We have been inspired by their revolutionary spirit and their steadfast commitment to their beliefs.”

Hong Kong was a British colony for 156 years from 1841 to 1997 following the First and Second Opium Wars.

The island was ceded to China in 1997 but there remains a level of Western culture as a result.

“It had developed from a small fishing village into an international financial centre,” Lumli Lumlong said.

“We had access to free and compulsory education, public housing, and public healthcare.

“We were influenced by British culture — from double-decker buses and café food to common law.

“We experienced freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and more. However, we lacked democracy and universal suffrage.

“We feel we still have a lot to learn about making political decisions ourselves.

“After the handover to China in 1997, our freedoms were gradually suppressed. In 2019, two million Hongkongers took part in the pro-democracy movement. Sadly, many activists were unjustly imprisoned afterwards.

“The movement led to the migration of around 150,000 people to the UK, which became the largest wave of migration in Hong Kong’s history.”

Lumli and Lumlong had to flee to the UK in June 2021 when their exhibition caught the attention of the Chinese government.

They are now living in exile but continue to share their experiences through their paintings.

“We have been creating socially engaged work for over ten years now,” they said.

“In May 2021, we held an exhibition at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Pro-CCP (Chinese Communist Party) journalists came to our exhibition under pretences and bought our painting albums.

“Subsequently, we were accused by the pro-CCP media of violating the National Security Law and using art to promote Hong Kong independence.

“Furthermore, the police and a Triad gangster even came to our studio to threaten us. We were very scared!

“In June 2021, we secretly closed our painting studio and shipped our large paintings to the UK within 20 days.

“We didn’t tell our father that we had left Hong Kong until we arrived safely in the UK, even though he has lung cancer.

“It was a tough time, and we usually have good dreams, as well as nightmares about Hong Kong, to this day.”

Many artists have influenced their art.

“We create grotesque-style oil paintings that reveal social realities, such as the struggles of the grassroots: the poor, the disabled, and farmers,” Lumli Lumlong said.

“We also depict the Hong Kong social movements and explore universal human rights issues, including freedom of expression and the impact of war.

“When we lived in France, we often sat in front of Théodore Géricault’s painting “Le Radeau de la Méduse”. He was the first artist who showed us that art could truly ‘help’ people.

“His way of revealing truth through art, and his serious attitude to research, deeply influenced us.

“We believe that social reality can be more ‘terrifying’ than our paintings. Art never tells a lie.

“At the same time, art is a painkiller for those who suffer. It is the ultimate expression of imagination through compassion: when someone suffers, you suffer together. We hope every brushstroke can be a voice for minorities.”

Their paintings have drawn international attention.

“People often say our paintings are terrifying,” Lumli Lumlong said.

“But that’s usually just their first impression. We also receive comments from people who say our paintings help them reflect on social issues and express unyielding spirit.

“Some people have been deeply moved; we’ve seen people cry in front of our paintings on several occasions. They told us our work brought back many memories for them.

“There have even been a few supernatural experiences; during one exhibition, a volunteer who stayed overnight to help set up fell asleep beside one of our paintings, ‘Red Brick Wall People’.

“The work commemorated the Siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University during the 2019 movement.

“The central figure was based on the deceased activist Chan Yin-lam. We had changed her appearance and never publicly stated that the figure was her.

“The volunteer said he heard a female voice whisper in his ear, coming from the painting itself, saying, “Thank you!”

“Surprisingly, he believed it was the voice of Chan Yin-lam. As the creators of the painting, instead of feeling scared, we were moved to hear this story.”

Lumli and Lumlong have both had a passion for art since childhood and consider their humble backgrounds as secret blessings.

“We both fell in love with art in childhood. Coming from modest backgrounds, we often had to find joy in simple things,” they said.

“For example, Lumli once envied her classmates’ stationery, but as she could not afford any, she drew pictures on waste items such as discarded drink cartons, pretending they were beautiful stationery. That became her first creation.

“Lumlong grew up in a family where everyone enjoyed drawing. As a child, he watched his father sketch birds on newspapers so vividly that he believed the pen was a magic wand. That inspired him to begin drawing as well.

“Looking back now, poverty may have been a hidden blessing. Creativity often arises from limitation. Without material scarcity, we might never have turned to art to fulfil our inner needs.”

There is a misconception about Hong Kong that they would like to dispel.

“We deeply respect Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, who is a symbol of peaceful resistance for freedom in China,” Lumli Lumlong said.

“However, due to the differences in culture and core values between the two places, we are committed to democratic values and stand against totalitarian regimes, along with their brutality and hypocrisy.

“We hope people can better recognise the uniqueness of our city without conflating it with China.”

Lumli and Lumlong explain the impact social media has had on their artistic career.

“Auction houses have always operated from the top down. For artists like us, it’s very difficult to break into the art market,” they said.

“But social media works from the bottom up; everyone has the right to share their work, the barrier to entry is low, and there’s the potential to reach the public widely.

“Since we started using social media, we’ve shared works such as ‘Cubical Man’, ‘Wheelchair Man’, ‘Brainwashed People’, ‘National Education People’, and most importantly, ‘Thousand Hands Man’.

“These pieces have spread widely and helped raise public awareness and even support social movements — though we want to make clear that they are not propaganda.

“After we left Hong Kong, social media became a communication bridge between Hong Kong and the UK. It helps us stay connected to our community and our cultural roots.”

Lumli and Lumlong shared their proudest moments as artists.

“Life is always hard for artists, especially when we were living in Hong Kong, a money-oriented city that does not favour the development of artists’ careers,” they said.

“We are proud that we never gave up on our dreams and have persisted all these years.

“Our work has been exhibited internationally in cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, and New York, as well as in museums, commercial galleries, and public institutions including the European Parliament and the UK Parliament.

“We have been selected for the London Art Biennale 2025. We have also been invited to take part in the Venice International Art Fair 2025.”

Lumli and Lumlong have a message to share.

“Even in adversity, whether under totalitarian rule or in a high-pressure work environment, we hold on to the spirit of not backing off and not giving up,” they said.

“This is Hong Kong’s cultural identity, what we call the ‘Lion Rock Spirit’.

“We hope to use our artwork to record reality and prevent the totalitarian regime from rewriting history and erasing its brutality.

“We truly hope to see Hong Kong liberated one day in our lifetime. Then we could return to our hometown.

“Many activists have been unjustly imprisoned, like Jimmy Lai, and we hope they can be released soon.

“As for ourselves, we hope more people will like our paintings. A humble request: please let us continue creating art so that we can make a living!”