HALLELUJAH (2017) from Alex Yiu on Vimeo.
Single channel video with stereo sound
9'05
2017
On 12 January 2017, Carrie Lam, the former Chief Secretary of HKSAR, submitted her resignation to run for chief executive. A local media cited a source that, during a closed-door lunch with the officials, Lam, a Catholic, said it was God who told her to resign and join the election. She was later elected as chief executive of Hong Kong with 777 votes. Coincidentally, 7 is considered as a holy number in Christianity, and 777 even represents the threefold perfection of the Trinity. Messiah, an oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is a masterpiece represents a commentary on Jesus as the Messiah called Christ, and his Nativity, Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension. There are no dramatic roles, no dominant voice, and even quoted speech, instead of dramatising the life and teachings of Jesus, the librettist, Charles Jennens’s intention was to acclaim the “Mystery of Godliness”.
In this video, I have selected the music of Messiah from its part II scene 6 to 7, which are the representation from “The world and its rulers reject the Gospel” to “God’s triumph”, ending with the famous chorus “Hallelujah”. The music is put together with the video of the announcement of 2017 Chief Executive Election of HKSAR. The ‘777’ votes reinforce the rumour and mystify Carrie Lam’s religious belief. At that moment, religion, politics, and sacred music merged into a perfect harmonisation with the sound of angry protesters and supporters in the venue, justifying the fact that God’s will has made Carrie Lam become the next chief executive of Hong Kong, no matters if she was selected by the Election Committee of 1,200 members, or disfavoured by the majority of Hong Kong people.
