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Umbrella | Political References


The umbrella can protect people from various factors as well as the rain and sun. In 2014, umbrellas gained the mission of protecting the crowd from pepper spray and rubber bullets during the protests in Hong Kong regarding more transparent elections, which were later named “The Umbrella Movement”. The object, particularly the yellow ones, became a symbol for protests and in general used as a tool for passive resistance. In 2019, during the time of the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement again in Hong Kong, the object carried the importance of collective expression, privacy, and self-defense for protesters in the same manner yet umbrellas have been labeled as weapons by police forces so that the ordering of the object from e-commerce platforms like AliExpress was banned. Beyond being a symbol of resistance, umbrellas were used as camouflage to provide privacy for protesters, as a shield and defense mechanism for protection against police forces as the people from protests claimed.  




The association of the umbrella with politics is not solely restricted to Hong Kong, the red umbrellas have a way different meaning in the rest of the world. The red umbrella became a global symbol of sex workers’ solidarity after it was used for the first time while a group of sex workers marched through the streets of Venice during the 49th Art Biennale. The object symbolizes protection in a different context now and stands for strength and resistance while drawing attention to abuses they are facing with its color red.


TADEJ POGAČAR & THE P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: CODE: RED, 2001



“The umbrella has been a symbol since the 2014 Umbrella Movement, and we use it to protect ourselves. But it gives us power. We stand at the back, but we can donate it to the front. We pass the power to them.”
—Elsa Chan, 30, retail marketing


“The police call it a weapon, but I don’t think it’s a weapon. It’s just an umbrella....It’s different from the police, they’ve got armor all over their body. You just can’t compare with them.” 

—Kelvin Yeung, 22, university student 




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