Censored, Then Reborn: Expo Metro’s Pivot to Rome

Public art is a dare—because it doesn’t wait for permission. In this episode of Lattes & Art (presented by J-Squared Atelier), host James William Moore takes you inside the emotional and logistical reality of what happens when a major public installation gets censored. Expo Metro’s Hong Kong edition (originally slated for Dec 5–11, 2025 on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai) was suddenly shut down after a screen owner rejected the show—then the team pulled off a full, collective pivot, relocating the entire exhibition to Rome for Jan 24–25, 2026. James shares the strategic choices he made with his Madame B tarot submission—why he curated a “safer” three-card spread (King of Swords, Three of Swords, Page of Wands), which sharper cards he intentionally withheld, and the hard lesson that sometimes censorship isn’t about one image—it’s about systems that fear unpredictability. This episode is part behind-the-scenes confession, part rallying cry: feel the loss, then find another wall.  

Expo Metro: https://expometro.co/en

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Transcript

00;00;08;04 - 00;00;33;03
James
Public art is a dare. Not because it's loud. But because it's public. It's art that doesn't wait for permission for the right audience. It shows up where life is already happening. And when an installation like Expo Metro gets censored, the question becomes do you shrink or do you pivot so hard you move the entire around? Because that's what happened.

00;00;33;06 - 00;01;02;22
James
On today's episode, I want to tell you what it felt like from inside the artist's side of it, including the choices I made with my tarot work to avoid conflict and why that strategy matters. Hey everybody, welcome back to Lattes & Artt, presented by J-Squared Atelier. I'm your host, James William Moore, artist, curator, educator, and person who absolutely believes that public art matters because it shows up where people already are.

00;01;02;23 - 00;01;31;13
James
This episode is a solo one because this story deserves a full unpack. Expo Metro's Hong Kong edition was slated for December 5th through December 11th, 2025, right on Hennessy Road. And Wan Chai and then the show was censored so the team pulled off a full pivot and shifted the entire thing to Rome. With a major edition running January 24th and 25th, 2026.

00;01;31;14 - 00;02;00;27
James
And the part I want to focus on isn't just the headline, it's the artist's reality. Underneath it the planning, the emotional gut punch, the decisions you make when you're putting work into public space and you know how fast a gate can close. Expo Metro is built on a simple, powerful idea. Take the visual language of the advertising. Big scale, high visibility, impossible to ignore and replace that product with artwork.

00;02;01;02 - 00;02;22;21
James
It's not a white cube. It's not a quiet museum room. It's art on the street in the flow of daily life. And I love that because museums are incredible. But they're not neutral. They're curated gates with hours and admissions and social codes. Public art, on the other hand, is like no velvet rope. No. Do I belong here? Moment.

00;02;22;29 - 00;02;48;23
James
Just art. Right where you're walking. That's the dream. That's the mission. So when Hong Kong was announced, big street, big screens, huge visibility. It felt like a real moment, which is where my tarot work comes in. The Hong Kong edition was promoted as this massive open air art gallery moment that was going to run for about a week on Hennessy Road and Wang Chai.

00;02;48;25 - 00;03;27;16
James
Hundreds of artists, dozens of countries involved. And if you've ever done any public facing exhibition, especially one with international logistics, you know what goes into it. Prepping files, specs, export deadlines, confirmation emails, double checking color, triple checking resolution and that low grade anxiety that hums under everything like please let this happen. Please. For me, there was also this extra layer because my piece is tied to my ongoing work with Madame B, my can't be theatrical, archetype driven alter ego.

00;03;27;23 - 00;03;58;23
James
And the thing about archetypes is they're universal and they're volatile. They touch religion. They touch politics. They touch identity. They touch power. So I was excited and I was careful. So tarot. Tarot is symbolism with teeth. It's archetypes. It's power, it's fear, it's desire. It's a deck of stories we keep pretending we don't believe in while we quietly live by them.

00;03;58;28 - 00;04;29;23
James
I submitted a tarot read for this show, but I didn't submit just anything. I curated what felt safe enough to survive the context without defending the work. The piece I planned for Hong Kong was a three card spread. King of swords. Authority. Intellect. Decision. The blade is clarity. Three of swords. The heartbreak card. Clean. Brutal symbolism A heart, three swords, no negotiation.

00;04;29;26 - 00;05;08;16
James
Page of wands. The spark, the messenger, the beginning, the flame. Visually, it's my language. Ornate frames, damask wallpaper, neon candy intensity that makes it feel both camp and haunted. But here's the important part. That spread was not an accident. It was a choice designed to avoid turning the work into a headline, because tarot can be playful and theatrical, or it can become a provocation that reads is political commentary, religious critique, sexual content, or a direct mockery of power.

00;05;08;19 - 00;05;34;15
James
And I have that work, too. Which brings me to what I deliberately did not send for the Hong Kong context. Okay, let's be honest. This is the part where I take a sip of coffee, look directly into the camera, and say, I absolutely curated my chaos because I have tarot cards in my practice that are oh, how do I put this politely?

00;05;34;17 - 00;06;00;26
James
They are not museum gift shop ready. They are not calming spa playlist. They are not live, laugh, love. They are the cards you pull when the universe is like, hey bestie, let's talk about your choices. And when I knew this was going to be public screens, international and high visibility, I did what any responsible artist who also enjoys being invited back does.

00;06;00;29 - 00;06;26;24
James
I asked myself, James, do you want to be right or do you want to be shown? Because those are different hobbies. So yes, I made choices, not because I was trying to be small, but because I understood how quickly one image can become the reason somebody panics and slams the whole door. Here's what I didn't send. I did not send my Emperor card.

00;06;26;26 - 00;06;55;08
James
Listen, my emperor card, not subtle. Emperor is the kind of image that walks into a room, kicks a chair over, and says, let's talk about ego and power. It's a satire of authority that's so readable that the image basically comes with its own headline. And I love that card. It does the job, but on a public screen platform that relies on gatekeepers not having a nervous breakdown.

00;06;55;10 - 00;07;25;28
James
Yeah, that card is a match. So I said, not today, not this time. I also did not send justice because justice o justice sounds neutral until you remember it is. And you put justice on a public screen and suddenly you're not doing tarot anymore. You're doing a statement. Scales, sword, the whole visual language of institutions. It's clean symbolism, but it's loaded symbolism.

00;07;26;01 - 00;07;56;05
James
It's the kind of archetype that makes people start projecting their entire political climate onto your artwork. And as much as I love being projected on to, I did not want to be the reason someone emails an executive in a cold sweat. Then there's judgment. First of all, the audacity of that word judgment is one of those cards where the title alone can start a fight with strangers who don't even like art.

00;07;56;12 - 00;08;22;21
James
Because judgment isn't just a tarot archetype in public space. It becomes a vibe. It becomes a threat. It becomes a mirror. People don't want to look into. And don't get me wrong. I adore a mirror, but I did not need a mirror that also comes with a siren. Then there's temperance. Yes. Sweet temperance. They are not quietly pouring water into a cup and journaling about self-care.

00;08;22;27 - 00;08;46;21
James
She doesn't have enough. This angel. I said I'd be responsible, and then I wasn't. It's a card about moderation. Sure. But the way I stage it makes it clear we are not here to pretend humans are elegant. Temperance in my world, is a wink and a mess and a confession. Which is exactly why it's fun and exactly why it's risky.

00;08;46;21 - 00;09;16;16
James
In a platform where someone can decide too messy equals too much liability. And then. Empress. Yes, Empress. In full glamor and domestic myth. But she's also got an edge like. Yes, I'm luxuriant. Yes, I'm divine. Yes, I'm a goddess of abundance. And yes, I'm judging you for using the wrong glassware. The Empress is delicious, but she's also bold and bold.

00;09;16;16 - 00;09;38;24
James
Cards on public screens can become controversial. Faster than you can say, but it's symbolism. So I looked at this lineup of spicy cards and I went, okay, if I send these, do I get to show my work or do I become the reason the whole platform starts sweating? I chose strategy. I chose the read that carries the weight without carrying a target.

00;09;39;00 - 00;10;09;05
James
King of swords. Power? Yes, but not a person. Three of swords. Pain? Yes. But not a scandal. Page of wands. Spark? Yes, but not an accusation. It's archetype. It's narrative. It's story. And honestly, I felt like I made the right call because the goal always wasn't to pick a fight with a gatekeeper. The goal was to put a tarot reading in public space and let strangers have a moment with it.

00;10;09;07 - 00;10;34;11
James
So when I was preparing for a public art platform that's literally dependent on gatekeepers, I did a risk pass, not a moral pass. A reality pass. I asked myself, Will this get flagged because it reads as political satire? Will this get flagged because it reads as institutional critique? Will this get flagged because it reads as adult content, even if it's art?

00;10;34;13 - 00;10;59;26
James
Will this get flagged because it reads like an attack instead of an archetype? Will this turn the whole installation into a liability? And I want to be super clear. This wasn't me watering down my practice. This was me protecting the opportunity for the work to exist in public at all. Because here's the truth of public facing art. Sometimes one image doesn't just get rejected.

00;11;00;03 - 00;11;24;02
James
It becomes the excuse to reject the entire platform. That was my strategy, and I felt good about it. Which is why what happened next hit even harder. The installation gets censored. On November 17th, 2025, Expo Metro posted that the Hong Kong show had been censored. That for the first time in Expo Metro's history, a screen owner rejected the show.

00;11;24;04 - 00;11;53;24
James
And I want to pause here because censored can mean a lot of things. Sometimes it's explicit government pressure. Sometimes it's private companies protecting contracts. Sometimes it's someone looking at risk and saying nope. But the impact is the same for artists. You did the work, you planned the moment, and suddenly the platform disappears. I'm not going to pretend I know every internal detail because these things are always layered.

00;11;53;26 - 00;12;21;27
James
Screen owners, contracts, risk calculations, pressure, fear, optics, blah blah blah blah blah. Sometimes all of that stuff all at once. But the result is simple. A public art surface got pulled away. And from the artist's side, that feels like this specific kind of grief. Not just I lost a show, but I lost visibility. Like your voice got lowered without anyone asking if you consented.

00;12;22;00 - 00;12;52;28
James
And context matters. Hong Kong has been experiencing increasing pressure on expression in recent years, including events getting shut down under broad justifications like force majeure, which some observers describe as political pressure wearing a legal mask. So even if you don't know every behind the scenes details, the headline Lan's art was ready and something made it unsafe or unacceptable to show it's being edited out of the public world.

00;12;53;00 - 00;13;25;01
James
And what messed with my head was I had already chosen the Safer tarot spread. I'd already avoided the sharper cards I'd already made the strategic edit, and it still didn't matter. Which is a brutal reminder. Sometimes censorship isn't about your exact image. Sometimes it's about the fact that art is unpredictable and unpredictability scares systems that then roam. This is the part that made me exhale.

00;13;25;04 - 00;13;56;01
James
Instead of letting the story be canceled. Expo Metro relocated. They pulled together, reorganized, and moved the entire installation to Rome. Room 26 is described as a monumental public art exhibition. 487 artists from 66 countries, running from January 24th to 25th, 2026, and Expo Metro stated that the Hong Kong artworks were transferred to the room. Format. This is not a simple reschedule.

00;13;56;01 - 00;14;27;17
James
This is a resurrection, and symbolically it's kind of perfect because censorship depends on isolation. It depends on people shrinking. It depends on you thinking it's just me. It's not worth it. But a collective pivot says the opposite. We're still here. We're still showing. And if you close one door, we'll hang the work on another wall. And on some level, it made my tarot spread feel like it was reading the moment in real time.

00;14;27;19 - 00;14;52;21
James
King of swords. System and gatekeepers. Three of swords. Rupture and loss. Page of wands. The pivot, the spark. The new beginning. It's almost too perfect, which is exactly how life is when it's being written like a dark comedy. Here's what I want to leave you with. There's a difference between fear and strategy. Fear says say nothing. Make nothing.

00;14;52;22 - 00;15;21;06
James
Don't risk it. Strategy says make the work. And be smart about how it travels through the system. I didn't avoid those other tarot images because I don't believe in them. I avoided them because I understand the fragility of public platforms, and I didn't want to hand anyone the easiest excuse to shut the door. And even though the door still got pushed closed in the first location, the work didn't disappear.

00;15;21;09 - 00;15;57;20
James
It moved. Public art is a negotiation. Always. It's a negotiation between beauty and power, between platform and permission, between the artist's intent and the viewer's context. And when censorship enters the room, it tries to collapse that negotiation into a single sentence. You can't. But what I saw from Expo Metro and from the artists involved was a refusal to accept that as the final sentence, they found a new surface, a new city, a new audience.

00;15;57;22 - 00;16;26;16
James
So if you're listening and you've had something pulled, rejected, not approved, quietly blocked or made impossible, let it hurt. But don't let it end you. If one wall disappears. Find another. Thanks for listening to Lattes & Art presented by J-Squared Atelier. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe so you'll never miss what's next. And if you can leave a review, it helps other art lovers find the show.

00;16;26;18 - 00;16;45;07
James
And if you're looking for an art history lesson that isn't your grandma's art history class, go listen to Art Happens: The Divine Mass of Art History. Quick hits, big meaning. Same messy love of art. Until next time, grab a latte and keep making work that refuses to vanish.