Located in East London, Brick Lane has been filled with street graffiti created by various individuals over the years. However, recently, one of the main walls on Brick Lane, E15YF, was completely painted white and sprayed with 24 Chinese characters representing the "Socialist Core Values," namely "Prosperity, Democracy, Civility, Harmony, Freedom, Equality, Justice, Rule of Law, Patriotism, Dedication, Integrity, and Friendliness."
Afterwards, a user on the social media platform "Xiaohongshu" claimed to be the mastermind behind the event and stated that the artwork "does not carry much political meaning but rather discusses the environment itself." The artist titled the work on Instagram as "East London Socialist Core Values - Antagonistic Dao Movement" and further explained the meaning of the artwork.
According to the artist's explanation on Instagram, "In London, on freedom, we see Logocentrism and the way freedom is used to colonize culture, commercializing it in the name of freedom and democracy, and promoting Western cultural centrality; this is London's freedom." He also criticized this kind of freedom, stating that it "constructs Western Orientalism, which conceals significant cultural rights inequalities and exploitation." Regarding the birth of the artwork, he stated that it was created to use the socialist construction method to challenge Western false freedom and to see what collision it will produce.
The artist emphasized his love for his country and hoped that the artwork would reflect the so-called freedom's Logocentrism and cultural colonialism. On his personal profile, he mentioned attending an art school in the UK. In recent photos uploaded, it shows multiple individuals collaborating on the graffiti, including people from different nationalities.
The artist mentioned that during the creation process, his and his friends' computers, hard drives, and cameras were stolen, unexpectedly becoming the best material that resonated with the artwork, perhaps the cost of freedom. He also remarked, "If covering other people's works is indeed regrettable, then maybe it's the cost of freedom, and I will be the one who amplifies this cost... Of course, without dialectics, beauty cannot be discovered."
The incident has drawn significant attention abroad, with some netizens criticizing the artist for disrespecting other graffiti works, and some even discovered that one of the previous works was a memorial for a deceased graffiti artist, and his works on the wall were left untouched for many years. In China, discussions about the incident are also ongoing on Weibo, where many netizens criticize "yique一鹊's" actions, believing it might make foreigners dislike Chinese people.
On his personal website, "yique一鹊" describes himself as Wang Hanzheng, an artist and curator whose works explore how art acts on reflecting and perceiving power ideologies. He identifies as a "troublemaker" and claims to be a critic, satirist, and nihilist. His research is mainly based on classical Marxism and the Frankfurt School.
The term "Logocentrism" mentioned by the artist likely refers to the concept of "Logocentrism," which views language or reason as the center or foundation for understanding and interpreting the world. It assumes that language or writing is a reliable tool for accurately expressing and conveying meaning and that truth can be fully understood and revealed through the use of language or reason.
"Cultural colonialism" primarily refers to the influence and expansion of cultural power globally, especially Western culture's impact on non-Western regions. Many critics of "cultural colonialism" believe that it poses a threat to the respect and preservation of diverse cultures and hinders the independent development and cultural autonomy of non-Western regions.
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