Hong Kong Willie

Recycled junk and fishing buoys litter the yard and facade of this bait shop cum art project.

Hong Kong Willie is the name of Joe Brown from Tampa, Florida. If you drive off Interstate 75, exit 266, you can already see a gigantic Christmas tree made of buoys, a decommissioned helicopter, walls of the Art Station hung with objects and colorfully painted buoys, and even from outer space you can see the paint-splattered driveway.

Hong Kong Willie's open-air museum was initially run by 3 other artists, now it's just Joe and his wife Kim.

Hong Kong Willie has been interested in art since early childhood. He gave himself the name after his art teacher told him that she helped out in Hiroshima after the Vietnam War and that it was a tradition there to turn bulky garbage or discarded items into art. This impressed the 8-year-old and the fact that the same teacher left Asia via Hong Kong finally inspired Brown to choose this name.

After his studies, Hong Kong Willie worked in the computer industry until he finally returned to art and opened his Art Station.

Hong Kong Willie classifies himself as junk art or recycling art - the recycling of waste objects into art. His gallery contains painted driftwood, sculptures and objects. His wife Kim makes kermaik.

Apart from his art, Hong Kong Willie is known for his compost worms. They don't make art from waste, but they do make good humus.

Links

• http://hongkongwillie.blogspot.com/2016/06/famous-florida-artist-updated-6182016.html
• http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/25893
• http://hongkongwillie.blogspot.com/
• https://www.youtube.com/user/hongkongwillie

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