臺灣知名當代藝術家侯俊明曾於1996年應邀赴香港進行創作,其成果就是《香港罪與罰》(1996年)三張一系列的版畫。創作當時,香港正值1997年統治權移交中國之前夕,這套版畫即為侯俊明對當地社會氛圍的觀察,並以他個人的藝術風格予以呈現,雖帶有戲謔嘲諷的表現,但仍有其嚴肅意涵。《香港罪與罰》不僅關注香港政治情勢的發展,也呈現了如老人照養的社會議題,因而這套作品不僅是侯俊明對香港的「預言」,同時也是一種「寓言」,一種反映現代社會共有問題的藝術寓言。本文認為這種關注當代的社會與政治現象,並以幽默諷刺的手法呈現的創作方式,在侯俊明之前的《極樂圖懺》(1992年)與《搜神記》(1993年)就已嫻熟運用,是以《香港罪與罰》自有其創作脈絡可循,但亦有創新之處。此外,侯俊明也曾以臺灣民間的地獄圖為參照,畫過一系列《地獄圖》(1993-1996年),同樣涉及社會和政治議題,且其中若干圖像也被運用於《香港罪與罰》,故本文亦會討論相關作品的關聯,並以文本生成學(genetic criticism)的方法,探究《香港罪與罰》的手稿與成品之間的演變。
Hou Chun-ming, a well-known contemporary artist in Taiwan, was invited to Hong Kong in 1996 as a visiting artist and soon he created a set of three prints named The Sins and Punishments of Hong Kong (1996). At the time of creation, Hong Kong was facing the handover of sovereignty to China in 1997. This set of printmaking, therefore, was Hou Chun-ming's observation of the local social atmosphere and presented in his personal style of bitter irony and sarcasm. The Sins and Punishments of Hong Kong not only focuses on the development of the political situation in Hong Kong, but also presents social issues such as eldercare. It could be said that this set of prints is not only Hou Chun-ming's “prophecy” for Hong Kong, but also an “allegory”, an art fable that reflects the problems shared by modern society. This article believes that such a way of focusing on contemporary social and political phenomena and presenting it with humorous satire has been used in Hou Chun-ming's earlier works such as Erotic Paradise (1992) and Tales about Spirits and Immortals (1993). In addition, Hou has also drawn a series of Scenes of the Hells (1993-1996) based on the Taiwan folk paintings of the hell. These works also involves social and political issues, and some of the images are used in The Sins and Punishments of Hong Kong. Accordingly, this article also discusses the relevance of related works and explores the evolution between manuscripts and finished products in The Sins and Punishments of Hong Kong by adopting the theory of genetic criticism.