在自然界，一年有四季。隨着速食時裝（Fast Fashion）興起，在時裝界，一年變成52季，每星期都有新貨上架，換裝速度之快令人詫異，換言之，展示服飾的櫥窗公仔每年便要變裝52次。攝影師蔡耀龍（Ray Choi）以櫥窗公仔為靈感 ，2019年展開名為「The Lady of Fifty-Two Seasons」的攝影計劃，當盲目追隨潮流的人季季換衫，其實與櫥窗公仔有何不同？
Ray在2016年開始街頭攝影，當時是為陪伴心情低落的朋友用攝影走出困局，結果反而自己愛上攝影，一直拍攝至今。他曾用四年時間在旺角、深水埗等地拍攝「Long Way Back Home」計劃，聚焦途人的臉孔，他說香港人的臉上總是沒有表情，感覺就如櫥窗公仔。有次，他在太子一間店舖見到破爛的櫥窗公仔，心想究竟它何時會被換走，結果幾個月又幾個月，依舊如故。「一般人只當櫥窗公仔是工具，根本不在乎它有點破爛，只要能展出衣服已足夠。」這啟發他創作《Wounds》，成為這個拍攝計劃的開端。
Photography artist Ng Kai Fung created the “Sisyphus Metropolis” in 2019 which he photographed landscapes in Lung Cheung Road, Polytechnic University, and other places.
After experiencing a year of protest, these places have unique significance. He used a shift lens to photograph the city landscape from a distance. Taking “Lung Cheung Road” as an example, this is a landscape of Kowloon East and Lion Rock. The buildings in the picture are straight and compact. It does not seem surprising, but there is a weirdness if you pay attention to the light in the photo.
The building in the foreground is dim, yet the mountain behind is bright. Ng Kai Fung uses image stitching to create high-resolution artworks with the photos taken at different times, intertwining the interlaced images of day and night. “The scenery and lighting look unrealistic, echoing the state of Hong Kong at that time. It was normal during the day but unusual at night.”
Ng Kai Fung studied photography at Hong Kong Art School. His artworks were deeply influenced by literature and philosophy. “The Sisyphus Metropolis” was inspired by the French writer Albert Camus’s philosophical essay “The Myth of Sisyphus.” He annotated the works through words, “When the Almighty loses its dominance in society, politics, especially under Totalitarianism, becomes the only religion. Justice is replaced by the will to power, and they assume freedom is slavery for all.”
“The Myth of Sisyphus” ends with the work “The Monuments,” an image about International Commerce Centre next to the Victoria Harbour. It looks like a high tower and an obelisk of the city. “The tower is a testimony of human civilization, but it has nothing to do with ordinary people. Our lives have not changed. Instead, our morals are getting worse and worse.” The work is presented in the form of a cross to question what faith is. In a world without God, how can we establish a new moral value?
Izumi Miyazaki生於1994年，2012年在武藏野美術大學（Musashino Art University）修讀影像藝術，大學一年級時開設Tumblr博客，在網絡上分享自拍作品。以為只是一般美白少女的照片？那你就錯了！她的照片總會重複出現自己，這一切原來源自她成長時期的孤獨，當在照片裡製造出許多個自己時，她便不會感到孤獨。另一個時常出現的元素，是食物，椰菜花、麵包、香蕉、米、雞蛋等，靈活地應用在作品中。當初那幅在頭上打蛋的照片，在tumblr上更有數萬個Like，令其迅速在網絡世界竄紅，很快地更引起國際媒體的關注。
It’s been a year since the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic emerged, photographer Birdy Chu document the life under the epidemic in 2020. Although everyone has been accustomed to living in the epidemic, it is still incredible to relive the past year’s moments. At the beginning of the epidemic, there were crowds of people lining up to buy masks. Meanwhile, the deserted shops on the streets also became the epitome of Hong Kong.
In one of the pictures, people line up to buy toilet paper and disinfection supplies, which became the new normal. “At that time, pharmacies would occasionally bring out things to sell. I tried to ask the first person waiting in line on the street. It’s sad and absurd that sometimes they didn’t even know what was in the line.”
On the other hand, the cute puppy wearing a mask and the masked girl contrast the young lady with long flowing hair in the billboard. Everything looks unusual. “Even during the festive Christmas holidays, there was still a depressive atmosphere. In one of the shopping malls in Tsim Sha Tsui, everyone lined up to take photos. In front of the beautiful Christmas illumination, three girls didn’t have any happy expressions even though they were photographed. ” It’s realistic yet rather strange.
武漢肺炎去年初在香港爆發，恍如一場沒有硝煙的戰爭，轉眼已持續逾一年，疫情一波又一波，而今不僅不降反升、確診病例逾萬，佐敦更成為封鎖區，the best is yet to come。攝影師朱迅（Birdy）用紀實的鏡頭記錄疫症下的2020年，雖然大家早已習慣活在病毒氾濫時，然而重溫過去這年的大小瞬間，卻仍覺不可思議。
