Tsang Tsou-choi's art career started over 50 years ago. At the age of 35, the poor Chinese worker began marking up lamp-posts, walls, phone boxes, pedestrian underpasses and electrical boxes around Hong Kong with a basic and somewhat primitive calligraphy. Dubbed "The King of Kowloon" after the district he lived in, Tsang's work has been seen at the 2003 Venice Biennale and was auctioned by Sotheby's in 2004 for over $7,000.
The mostly shirtless artist walked through the streets on crutches as he grew older and was forced to retire when his legs finally gave out. He died on July 15th of a heart attak.
During his informal career, he was arrested several times by both the British and Chinese police, who also made it a point to try to buff all areas touched by Tsang. Now that he's passed away, people are asking that what remains of his work be protected.
According to Reuters UK:
It'll be interesting to see if the Chinese government goes for it, or if instead, they produce Tsang counterfeits across Hong Kong.
[via ArtKrush]
