Art Basel Hong Kong was forced to go into damage control mode immediately after the closing of its star-studded show on Tuesday after photos surfaced of what seemed to show a gaggle of school children tied together with string.
And, no, it wasn’t a kooky installation expressing the juxtaposition of innocence and repression… not this time, at least.
The photo, which was posted onto Facebook before quickly going viral, attracted grave criticism from Hong Kong’s ever-opinionated netizens, who claimed the children were being treated like dogs or prisoners in a chain gang.
However, both Art Basel and UBS, a main sponsor of the show and the organiser of the kids’ tour, said the children were just holding the string rather than tied to it, and it was all in the name of safety.
Speaking in an interview with Apple Daily, social worker Chan Kam-ming said the method is not actually all that practical, given than a child could easily trip over the rope, causing a domino effect.
He also added that the psychological impact of holding a piece of string is unknown.
