DEVEDO’s First Photography Exhibition—間まMA：Ryuichi by Rensis
Japanese renowned musician Ryuichi Sakamoto visited Hong Kong in 1998, and photographer Rensis Ho captured his unique portraits.
As for Rensis, Sakamoto is a brilliant and charismatic artist. During the shooting process, Sakamoto quickly entered his own realm, sometimes looking directly into the camera, sometimes lying on the ground. His “performance” felt impromptu, effortlessly charming, and Rensis skillfully captured his spiritual gesture.
Twenty-seven years later, these precious images will be fully exhibited at DEVEDO for the first time. The exhibition, themed “間まMA,” aims to reflect the professor’s unique charisma and the profound meaning conveyed by his photographs.
In Japanese, “間まMA” is composed of the characters for “door” and “sun,” symbolizing sunlight filtering through a door into a room. Much like Sakamoto’s music, it brings warmth and inner peace amidst the world’s hustle and bustle.
“間まMA” also represents negative space or emptiness. In traditional Japanese art, this concept profoundly influences composition and aesthetics. In modern interpretation, it is an artistic expression of blank space, inviting viewers to focus on the negative space and find beauty in simplicity.
Rensis’s works from the 1990s feature minimalist backgrounds that highlight the professor’s demeanor and expression. The photographs, printed on Japanese awagami washi paper, resonate with Ryuichi Sakamoto’s calm and Zen spirit.
《間まMA：Ryuichi by Rensis》 Date: 2025.10.23 – 11.29 Time: 2-7pm (Wednesday-Saturday, By Appointment) Venue: @devedo.hk , 6J, Block 2 Kingley Industrial Building, 33 Yip Kan Street, Wong Chuk Hang. Image Printing Supported by @avocadoartlab
於是在2000年，他創立Laurence Lai Gallery，最初在黃金海岸的小攤位售賣照片，隨後他毅然放棄多年的時裝生意，全心投入攝影的創作與銷售。從屯門的週日市集到太平山的山頂廣場，最巔峰時甚至經營四間店舖。經歷過2003年沙士和2008年金融危機，畫廊依然屹立不倒，反倒是後來隨著租金逐年上漲，多家分店相繼結業，最終2013年在中環碼頭開設同名新店，至今已逾十年。
近年有不少港人移民英國，Laurence也滿懷期待將其攝影作品帶到異國他鄉。這是他首次參加海外展覽，不遠萬里自資前往英國參展倫敦Affordable Art Fair，展出多幅銀鹽相片。「能在國際舞台展示香港的攝影作品，讓我既期待又興奮。英國人對香港並不陌生，大會總監Hugo Barclay也對不同藝術媒介的呈現充滿期待。」
10月15日至19日，Laurence Lai將在英倫繼續講述那份屬於香港的情懷與記憶。
Hong Kong photographer Laurence Lai will be participating in the Affordable Art Fair UK in London for the first time, showcasing old Hong Kong images of airplanes flying low near Kai Tak Airport, as well as streets full of signboards and neon lights, which bring a nostalgic Hong Kong to the London fair.
Fan Ho‘s new Thoughts On Street Photography, available @devedo.hk
From the publisher of Portrait of Hong Kong and Photography. My Passion. My Life., Hong Kong publisher WE Press presents a reprint of Thoughts on Street Photography — a recreation of Fan Ho’s acclaimed 1959 photographic methodologies.
Illustrated with 64 images, this book takes readers on an expedition through Fan Ho’s conceptual and practical foundations of street photography. Sixteen insightful essays, originally published in the Hai Kwang Fortnightly, are presented alongside self-written prefaces, a short autobiography, and a reorganization of his iconic, award-winning photographs.
This edition also features a curated selection of previously unpublished original negatives, newly scanned and printed. Dive into the creative process behind each photographic work, and be guided by his principle: move yourself and touch others.
“The real good picture is not about the camera, but in yourself, in your eyes, in your thoughts, in your heart; it was never about that unsympathetic machine.” – Fan Ho.
In 2025, photographer Chan Dick will celebrate the 10th anniversary of his series, CEMENT-ERY. This collection not only reflects his thoughts on the redevelopment of Yue Man Square in Kwun Tong, the community where he grew up, but also preserves the memories of his mother, who passed away earlier this year.
In this special moment, the Hong Kong photography platform PhotogStory curated a small exhibition titled “CEMENT-ERY” for Chan Dick, showcasing this series of photos that combine wall surfaces with Hong Kong’s urban landscapes for the first time. Familiar landscapes emerge through the remaining wall marks like reflections, encouraging viewers to contemplate the delicate relationship between urban redevelopment and preservation.
In 2015, as the Kwun Tong Town Centre Redevelopment Project progressed rapidly, Chan Dick returned to Yue Man Square on a quiet afternoon. He wandered back into the familiar community and, out of curiosity, stepped into Yue Wah Mansion, which was already empty and desolate. Strolling through the staircase, the wires that once cluttered the corners had been removed, but their traces were still clearly visible. At that moment of inspiration, the twisted wire marks reminded him of the mountains’ outline and inexplicably brought to mind the scenery of the Tsing Ma Bridge.
The South 淺水灣
As he carefully explored the walls, he noticed wave-like indentations on another wall that resembled the waves of ukiyo-e, matching the view from Hung Hom towards Central. That day, the photographer took seven photographs, some depicting clouds resembling cotton candy, while others look like long-exposure star trails. When I interviewed Chan Dick years ago, I was deeply captivated by this series of works and amazed that he could envision so many landscapes on mottled walls through his extraordinary imagination. However, these photos, created concurrently with his iconic work “Chai Wan Fire Station,” had never been exhibited before.
Returning to Yue Man Square a decade later, Chan Dick saw that Yue Wah Mansion had been demolished, leaving behind a pile of black rubble mixed with debris. Imagining these were the traces left behind by the building, he picked up stones and held them in his hand. They were heavy and dark, stirring a wave of nostalgia and mixed emotions within him. It is time to sort through these thoughts intertwined with memories and feelings of familial affection.
Chan Dick — CEMENT-ERY
Date: March 15 – April 13, 2025
Time: 11am-1pm, 2pm-6pm (Tuesday to Sunday)
Venue: Lumenvisum LUMOS Mini Gallery, L2-2, JCCAC, 30 Pak Tin Street, Shek Kip Mei
About Chan Dick
Chan Dick studied graphic design and first became involved in photography when given his graduation assignment. As a still-life and architectural photographer, he is devoted to creating personal works, often touching on social issues and everyday life discoveries.
While fascinated by simple lines and minimalistic compositions, Chan’s works emphasize the ambiguous attraction between reality and illusion. His iconic series “Chai Wan Fire Station” earned him first prizes respectively at the Tokyo International Foto Awards and the Hong Kong Photo Book Awards. This series was exhibited in Japan and the Netherlands and collected by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and Japan’s Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography Nara City.
Chan also collaborated with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong by photographing their collection of human specimens. He produced an aesthetic set of images called “The Trek,” which challenges the general public’s shared perception of the topic. The work was published as a photo book and won a Gold Prize at the Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA).
About PhotogStory
Hong Kong-based Photography platform PhotogStory was founded by photography writer and curator LAU Tung-Pui. The platform introduces local & international photographers’ artwork, the history behind classic images, and photo books.
PhotoStory’s curated exhibitions include Hidden Town at Wure Area (Kowloon Bay), Chun Wai’s solo exhibition at Kubrick (Yau Mai Tei), Mak Fung‘s solo exhibition at EastPro Gallery (Causeway Bay) and co-curated group exhibitions at Boogie Woogie Photography (Wong Chuk Hang) and at Fine Art Asia 2024.
2018年初，一班本地攝影愛好者成立攝影組織「Ménos 心象社」，不定期舉辦攝影講座及Photo Walk等活動，2019年結集逾10位成員作品推出攝影集《Prologue》，首期主題是「Hong Kong Street」，收錄眾人的街頭攝影作品。事隔五年、經歷過疫情，第二本攝影集《也無風雨也無晴 The Weight of SilhouetteI》也於2024年底出版。
書名《也無風雨也無晴》出自北宋文學家蘇東坡的詞作《定風波》，是一種在逆境中憑心境自樂的豁達精神，回想過去數年的疫情歲月，許多人經歷過無助與憂鬱，一句「也無風雨也無晴」既是安慰，也是一種豁達。英文名稱「The Weight of Silhouette」也頗有意思，虛幻的剪影本無重量，但攝影師的拍攝注入情感，觀者也會結合個人記憶而觀看，為相片增添意義，令那刻的光影也彷彿有了重量。
Hong Kong Photographer Mak Fung (1918-2009) began photographing in the mid-1940s and documented the city’s street views and grassroots for more than half a century.
Hong Kong Once Was: 1946-1980s, a tribute exhibition to Mak Fung, was inspired by his 1997 photo book. It is an exquisite collection of photographs of old Hong Kong taken by Mak Fung from 1946 to the 1990s.
Hong Kong was a small fishing village. In Mak Fung’s photos, images of sampans in Aberdeen and drying salted fishes in Tai O remind us of its past. As a colonial city, Hong Kong’s architecture, such as the third-generation General Post Office in Central and Hong Kong Club Building, is reminiscent of history. Mak Fung’s lens also captures the street scene of Hong Kong and the daily life of ordinary people, such as the Graham Street market and the peddler on the street.
The exhibition showcases over 20 silver gelatin prints made in the 1990s and Mak Fung’s publications.
Hong Kong Once Was: 1946-1980s
Mak Fung Photo Exhibition
Date: 7-21, Dec, 2024
Time: 2:30-7pm(Wed-Fri), 2:30-6pm(Weekends)
Venue: Eastpro Gallery, 9A, Hyde Centre, 223 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
