Stage of Construction

[Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, click to view large size]

on the stage of construction | we walked
not noticing | we are the main characters

Pink City

Tell me the secret of creating a pink city:
people have to be fashionable in pink
highways have to be paved in pink
people have to think in pink
buildings to be painted in pink
people have to converse in pink
walls graffiti in pink
people have to ... everything in pink

Victoria Prison, Central, Hong Kong

I went to the Victoria prison last Monday to take photos of this historical site. This was the first place I went to take photos after I bought my Canon DSLR. The site was loaded with exhibits and models to provoke people to think about the city we are living in. 'Refabricating City' is surely an interesting and informative exhibition! Some of the exhibits are very thoughtful in collating the thoughts of people in how they view Hong Kong. Some people also used art installation as a means to express their views. Though I spent 3 hours with my classmate SY there, I can assure you I will visit the place for a few more times, it's a worthwhile place to go! The place is now a temporary museum in the hub of the city!

As for this set of photos, I mainly focused more on the buildings a bit more!

Cityski

[31st December 2007, Central, Hong Kong]

though there was no snow
we were subconsciously told
not to walk too slow
so we could act bold
take charge of the flow
earn lots of gold

No matter when I walk on this footbridge which joins the Chater House, the buildings alongside and the IFC, I often automatically accelerated my pace. It is an environment that forces me to quicken my footsteps for no good reason, it is a place of imitation where everybody seems to be skiing regardless of the types of shoes they are wearing, be it inches of high heels or flats. It is a very convenient footbridge that allows people to transfer themselves into different space and make a living.

A hug

The half-broke news in the afternoon kept on repeating in my mind and I could hardly concentrate on my assignment due tomorrow. I couldn't understand how you could have remained so calm when telling us you are facing such a serious problem though you were reluctant to disclose the full extent of it. I sensed it must be something curled up, knotted and bundled into a choas. I was sitting on the next row as you were speaking and I so much wanted to give you a hug afterwards, yet I didn't, knowing you would burst into tears. I could only silently keep you in my prayers hoping that you will resolve it soon and that I will also gain a friend back. My Christmas card, chocolate and yoghurt rasins might have given you a split second of cure, yet I so much wish you will soon renew sweetness in life with your life-long friend.

Reason

Sometimes I ask myself this question: Why do I want to take photos? What takes me on this visual journey?

I visited a Hong Kong photographer, Simon Wan's studio during yesterday's afternoon. He taught us through several talks at uni about the value of photographs. The visit was termed as a 'field trip' to make the course complete. Originally I wanted to back out but on second thoughts, I had the intuition that there must be something thought-provoking after the visit, so out of my packed schedule and with an assignment to be finished, I went ahead to Sheung Wan, somewhere which is near yet unfamiliar to myself.

I remember posing this question to myself when I was in Sydney last year:
Why I enjoy taking photos of the same subject matters over and over again?
Why aren't I bored from it?
Why I carried all these heavy instruments around this unfamiliar city?
Why didn't I just stare at it for a while, admire in awe and leave a place instead?
Why didn't I just write my feelings, why was there a need to record with the visual?
Where did my motivation come from?
The hardest question of all: What is my voice?

I browsed and picked up books from COFA and the Customs House library randomly to just widen my views about photos. I've looked at fashion photographs, very experimental photographs, documentaries ... and yes, I still haven't really found the answer as to what I want to do with photography.

Simon raised this question quite at the right time ... I need to find a reason because I have to choose my subject matter carefully and this will give me the passion. On reflection of the incidents happened recently:
I felt extremely unhappy when I lost photographs from my portable hard disk
I was very insistent on recovering data despite the potential high price I have to pay
Images of the past just kept of flashing from my brain
I was very emotional at the time when compared to a lot of harder falls

Besides, when I start to work this August / September, how can I sustain my interest and keep on doing photography? Will I feel bored if I find my images repetitive? Will I then decide to put aside my camera and lens?

Yes, I got to spend time and mull over it ... this city isn't that encouraging and thoughtful in terms of supporting creativity, this is a commercialised, consumerism-led city, it is always harder to stand firm in the fast-flowing stream of over-diligence and in the midst of an attitude where work is an equivalent of life.

So my one of my new-year wish to myself is to spend time and sort out what does photography really means to me, so I won't be taking silly, meaningless photos. Cameras are saturated in the city, but do those people ever think what is the worth of photographs?

Ripples

Here
on floating ripples
I sat
drifting waddling

There
on nodding wattles
you sat
smiling
inviting

Tracing
following
your shadows,
deeply sculpted

Your
laughter
echoed my laughter
echoed densely

your feathers
afloat
caressing
still leading
wishes

[poem written for Form 7 graduation in 2003 for Mrs Too]