每天早上天微亮，他帶著兩部相機遊走巴黎街頭，露天的小餐館、牽著小狗的途人、街頭畫家、在地鐵車廂閱讀的乘客、牆上的塗鴉等，一一定格在他的黑白菲林裡。Laurence也喜歡拍攝當地的建築物，雨天的凱旋門街景、途人在羅浮宮外快步流星，令人想起布列松1932年的名作《Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare》。最令人印象深刻的一幅巴黎鐵塔的照片，冬日的枯枝與地標巴黎鐵塔形成對比，恍如靜態版的電影畫面。攝影師刻意選用暖色調相紙，將菲林影像沖曬成黑白銀鹽相片，感覺就如上世紀的懷舊風景。
遊歷巴黎後，他深刻感受到巴黎人的生活態度，「香港人普遍工作壓力大，我們經常說work-life balance，但法國人卻是放慢腳步去享受生活。」身為攝影師，同時在中環碼頭經營攝影畫廊Laurence Lai Gallery，日常生活固然忙碌，因此這次巴黎之旅也令他感觸良多。
Photographer Laurence Lai’s first visit to France was in 1991. It was a short stay, and his memories have become fuzzy. He always wanted to spend more time truly appreciating and immersing himself in the local culture. Finally, he embarked on his journey through Paris earlier this year.
Laurence wandered around some of Paris’s major landmarks and captured urban landscapes. He also photographed people and buildings on the streets. He noticed that the French have a great sense of style—men and women dress impeccably! Whether sitting in a café or public transportation commuters, they exuded a unique fashion culture. This city deeply captivated him!
He carefully selected some of his favorite works for this exhibition. The iconic Eiffel Tower, the historical Arc de Triomphe in the rain, and the snow-covered quaint streets are all black-and-white silver gelatin prints handmade in the darkroom. The warm-toned museum-grade cotton fiber paper emphasizes the historical context of the artwork and his emotions.
Echoes of Space 黑 白 間
Date: now till 12 May 2024
Time: 1pm-7pm(Tues-Fri) , 11am-7pm(Sat-Sun)
Site: Garome, 902, Bonham Centre, 79 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
第二章是「Law of Desire」，作為一名同志攝影師，李志超拍攝過不少裸體作品，無疑為當時性觀念仍十分保守的社會，帶來一定程度上的衝擊，他的照片令人反思身體與慾望的法則。這個章節同時收錄多幅他為《妖夜迴廊》(同名電影也由他執導，吳彥祖主演)、《放火燒城》、《暗夜機密》等個人小說及為《少年邪》、《巴黎私生活》等散文集拍攝的封面，也有為外國作家拍攝的書籍封面照片。
Hong Kong Stories, A Photography & Photobook Exhibition
Photography was introduced to the world in 1839, and Hong Kong became British Empire’s colony in 1841. The coincidence and proximity in time connect photography to Hong Kong’s history. To a certain extent, photographic images construct our impression of Hong Kong. Especially in the 20th century, when many Hong Kong and foreign photographers roamed or passed through Hong Kong, they captured the city’s appearances differently.
PhotogStory is pleased to present “Hong Kong Stories,” a group exhibition of old Hong Kong images, along with more than 50 old Hong Kong photo books by multiple Hong Kong and international photographers, as clues to connect Hong Kong’s stories in the 20th century.
Everyone sees and feels the city from their perspective. Hong Kong is a vibrant city under the lens of the late photographers Yau Leung and Ngan Chun Tung in the 1960s to 1970s. The fleeting moments captured by the French New Wave set photographer Raymond Cauchetier in 1954 reflect people’s simple life. Their photographs left a critical testimony of the precious era.
Hong Kong Stories
Date: 1 August – 17 September 2023
Time: 11am – 8pm
Site: House by Kubrick, 5/F, Cityplaza, Tai Koo
About PhotogStory
PhotogStory is an online Photography platform and Guest Curator based in Hong Kong. We focus on stories of local and international photographers and stories behind classic photos.
張焯退休前曾從事攝影沖曬業務，八十年代結束店舖生意後，他曾將一批底片沖曬成銀鹽相片。由於為人低調，整批照片從未展示於人前，只是擱於床底下的紙箱，就這樣默默存放逾二十年。2012年，前《攝影畫報》主編伍小儀說服他舉辦展覽，在石硤尾藝文空間「光影作坊」舉辦《那些年 張焯舊日情懷作品展》，展出二十幅1960及1970年代的黑白影像，引起不少迴響。事隔兩年，同樣在伍小儀的遊說下，從影逾六十年的張焯，才於2014年姍姍來遲出版首本作品集《香江掠影——張焯攝影集》，收錄逾百幅他在1960及1970年代拍攝的寫實照片。文章轉載自《Milk Motor Club》，完整版本請瀏覽《Milk Motor Club》037期。
PhotogStory is pleased to present “A Revelrous Heterotopia – The South Stand of Hong Kong,” a solo exhibition by Hong Kong photographer Chun Wai at Kubrick in Yau Ma Tei from 3 July to 30 August 2023.
The Chancellors, cardinal, batman, court nobles, disheveled policemen, Snow White, and a lame ballet dancer will be on stage at Kubrick bookstore, surprisingly.
Chun Wai’s photo project – A Revelrous Heterotopia – The South Stand of Hong Kong, is elegant and absurd. For more than 20 years since 1995, he recorded diligently the snippets of life that transpired in the Hong Kong Sevens. With his rigorous visual senses, each captured moment was examined for its inner meaning and metaphor.
The photographer cleverly used the cold background of the concrete wall with a medium gray scale color tone, slowly pushing the inner tension of the image. The hilarious character roles and the comic-style visual element as if they come from an indefinite time and space.
The exhibition is accompanied by the homonymous photo book at the Kubrick bookstore.
The book contains over a hundred portraits and three essays that provide readers with different perspectives, exploring issues such as the reverse thinking inspired by the origin of rugby, the association between the phenomenon of raving fans and the meaning behind the “Carnival Culture” proposed by the former Soviet literary theorist Bakhtin, the relationship between photography and theatre and the language and thinking of photography.
A Reverlous Heterotopia -The South Stand of Hong Kong is a light-hearted, humorous collection of photographs and a photo essay presenting a different thought.
A Revelrous Heterotopia – The South Stand of Hong Kong
Date: 3 July – 30 August 2023
Time: 11:30am-10pm (Every day)
Address: Kubrick, Shop H2, Prosperous Garden, 3 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei
秦偉曾多次獲頒人權新聞獎。已出版作品包括《異域狂歡》、《時間的漫遊》、《另一段的地平線》、《在天堂之下》及《板間人生》。作品獲香港大學美術博物館、香港文化博物館、法國Mulhouse市政府、阿根廷薩塔爾當代美術館（Museum of Contemporary Art of Salta，Argentina）收藏。
Born in Hong Kong and educated at the École supérieure des beaux-arts de Mulhouse in France, photographer Chun Wai’s perspective lies in his humanistic vision and macro-historical framework in interpreting the changing world. His project covered a vast area in the region, including Hong Kong. His work is full of a sorrowful yet romantic mood and reveals his personal landscape. The phantasmagorical image like a rhythm poem of a stray, is a unique work of art.
About PhotogStory
PhotogStory is an online Photography platform and Guest Curator based in Hong Kong. We focus on stories of local and international photographers and stories behind classic photos.
Mihail Gorbachev folded his speech after a televised broadcast to the nation from the Kremlin in which he announced his resignation from the post of General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, Moscow, on December 25, 1991, which represents the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. Associated Press Moscow correspondent Liu Heung Shing took this historical image. Here is how he recalled the moment in his book “A Life In a Sea of Red.”
“In order to capture this milestone in 20th-century history. I decided to focus on the moment when, at the end of his speech, Mihail Gorbachev signed his resignation paper. To make it work, it had to be done with a slow shutter of 1/30 second. Only this would show the motion of the speech paper as he laid it down on the table in front of him and, in so doing, laid to rest the U.S.S.R. With only one chance to get the shot at his moment, I had to take what was a calculated technical risk. The slow shutter speed could just have easily resulted in an entirely blurred picture.”
In 1992, Liu shared a Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography with his colleagues for documenting the collapse of the Soviet Union. On August 30, 2022, Mihail Gorbachev died in Moscow at the age of 92.
