The other exhibition we visited in Chai Wan was Ho Fan’s ‘A Hong Kong Memoir’, which runs until January 31 at the AO VERTICAL gallery. It really is worth a visit, so if you are into photography, you should go and see it!
Ho Fan is one of Asia’s most beloved street photographers. He captured Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s – and the pictures from this time are truly amazing.
He had the patience to wait for ‘the decisive moment’, where something unexpected collided with a very clever composed background of geometrical construction and texture. He created very scenic and dramatic images, often with backlit effects or through the combination of smoke and light.
His pictures feature every day people in the streets, alleys, markets and in their homes (sometimes even on boats). Ho Fan would usually shoot around dusk when the sun would cast long shades.
I love the images that capture every day life – all the vendors, hawkers selling fruits and vegetables, kids playing, people crossing the street.
Ho Fan was most prolific in his teens and 20’s and created his biggest body of work before he reached the age of 28. He looked through his archives and created a new series of superimposed shots. He layered two images over each other – and while this created something new, I prefer his old classic shots, portraying a Hong Kong that is long gone.
AO Vertical Art Space
3-13/F, Asia One Tower, 8 Fung Yip St, Chai Wan
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