Blue Lotus Gallery 榮幸呈獻全新聯合攝影展「城牆之聲」，透過攝影師林保賢(Ian Lambot) 、格雷格·吉拉德 (Greg Girard)、謝慧姍 (Bianca Tse) 和 李紀平 (Keeping Lee) 探索九龍城寨獨特的歷史和文化。展覽包括闡述九⿓寨城社區的珍貴攝影作品和⼈⼯智能數碼藝術作品，強調透過攝影保存集體記憶的重要性。
Blue Lotus Gallery presents “Voices of the Walls,” an exhibition exploring Kowloon Walled City’s rich history through photographs by Ian Lambot, Greg Girard, Bianca Tse, and Keeping Lee. Featuring prints and AI-generated art, the exhibition celebrates the community that once lived there while also highlighting the importance of preserving collective memory through photography.
Why it matters:
在80年代的鼎盛時期，九⿓城寨在短短6.4英畝的⼟地上容納了⼤約3萬⾄5萬名居⺠，使其成為地球上⼈⼝最稠密的地⽅之⼀。幾⼗年來，它⼀直處於⼀個無⼈監管的狀態。居⺠們建立了⼀個⾃給⾃⾜的社區，有商店、⼩⼯廠、餐廳和服務設施，包括學校、牙醫和醫療設施，以及妓院、舞廳、賭場和鴉⽚館，所有這些都在城牆的範圍內。⾃1994 年清拆以來，城寨已經獲得了⼀種不朽視覺美感，展現出⼀種現代主義的反烏托邦，將骯髒、⿊暗、隨意的建築和過度擁擠混合在⼀起，形成⼀種令⼈不安但不可抗拒的關注和追憶。《圍城之聲》記錄了城寨街坊的適應能⼒，體現⼈⽂精神的傳奇，證明了攝影和攝影書籍，在香港不斷發展的城市中，為後代保護⽂化遺產發揮了非常重要作⽤。
At its peak in the 80’s, Kowloon Walled City housed approximately 30,000 to 50,000 residents in just 6.4 acres, making it one of the most densely populated places on Earth. For decades, it existed in a largely ungoverned state. The residents developed a self-sufficient community, complete with shops, small factories, restaurants, and services, including schools and dentists and medical facilities, along the brothels, dance parlours, gambling places and opium dens, all within the confines of the walled city. In the years since 1994 demolition, the Walled City has attained a kind of punk immortality and a visual aesthetic showing a modernist dystopia mixing filth, darkness, and haphazard concrete construction and overcrowding into a single unsettling yet irresistible brew. ‘Voices of the Walls’ underscores the significance of remembering Kowloon Walled City as a testament to human ingenuity and adaptability. It celebrates the spirit of those who lived there while highlighting the vital role of photography and books in preserving heritage in a constantly evolving city like Hong Kong, for generations to come.
3 Highlights:
- 《⿊暗之城》的作者格雷格·吉拉德和林保賢拍攝的⼀系列捕捉了寨城⽣活照⽚。在城寨清拆前，透過照⽚和故事保留了這座城寨的⽂化遺產，更為當代藝術家提供了創作靈感。
- A collection of photographs capturing the essence of life in the Walled City by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot, authors of City of Darkness. This collection not only preserves the heritage of the notorious walled city through photographs and stories but also served as a source of inspiration for future generations of artists.
- 謝慧姍 (Bianca Tse) 受寨城啟發⽽創作的⼈⼯智能數碼藝術作品。
- AI generated imaginary work by Bianca Tse inspired on the Walled City.
- 照⽚是集體記憶和保護遺產的重要媒介，李紀平的銀鹽明膠照⽚為⼀個備受爭議的奇特社區，提供了豐富的視覺歷史研究機會。
- Photographs serve as a vital medium for archiving collective memory and preserving heritage, particularly for places that will eventually disappear, like the walled city. Silver gelatine prints by Keeping Lee offer an opportunity to delve into the rich visual history of his once-controversial urban enclave.
Background: Artists
- Greg Girard是一位加拿大攝影師，以其探索亞洲社會和城市景觀的紀錄片作品而聞名。他於1955年出生於溫哥華，在艾米麗·卡爾藝術與設計學院學習攝影。Girard最著名的項目之一是「黑暗之城」，這是對香港九龍寨城的攝影探索。Greg Girard的照片曾出現在《國家地理》、《時代》、《新聞周刊》、《紐約客》、《國家郵報》和許多其他出版物上。
- Greg Girard is a Canadian photographer who is known for his documentary work exploring the social and urban landscape of Asia. He was born in Vancouver in 1955 and studied photography at Emily Carr College of Art and Design. One of Girard’s most well-known projects is “City of Darkness,” a photographic exploration of the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. Greg Girard’s photos have been featured in National Geographic, TIME, Newsweek, The New Yorker, The National Post, The Star, and numerous other publications.
- Ian Lambot曾經是建築師，1979年開始在香港生活了18年。他曾經營過一家建築模型制作工作室，幷與福斯特建築事務所合作，之後成立了出版社，出版了許多關於建築、工程和設計的書籍，其中包括四卷關於諾曼·福斯特作品的書籍，還有《黑暗之城：九龍寨城的生活》。
- Ian Lambot trained as an architect and worked briefly for the Richard Rogers Partnership before arriving in Hong Kong in 1979, where he lived for the next 18 years.After stints running an architectural model-making studio and working with Foster and Partners – on the early stages of the Hongkong Bank project – he set up Watermark Publications, publishing in the years since numerous books on architecture, engineering and design, including four volumes on the work of Norman Foster and City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City.
- 謝慧姍出生並成長於20世紀80年代的香港，她將自己在視覺傳播方面的專業知識與對紀錄片工作的深厚熱情結合在一起。Bianca的藝術風格植根於講故事，將香港的集體記憶與人工智能的無限可能性編織在一起。
- Bianca, born and raised in 1980s Hong Kong, combines her expertise in visual communication with a deep passion for documentary work. Bianca’s artistic style is rooted in storytelling, weaving together Hong Kong’s collective memories with the limitless possibilities offered by AI as a creative medium.
- 李紀平畢業於倫敦威斯敏斯特大學攝影科學學士學位，並於1985年成為英國皇家攝影學會會員。回到香港後，他在多所研究所和大學教授攝影，並在柯達香港公司專業部工作了十多年。目前，他在香港中文大學教授攝影並擔任多家雜誌的技術顧問和撰稿人。
- Keeping Lee graduated with a BSc in Photographic Sciences from the University of Westminster, London, and became a member of the Royal Photographic Society in 1985. After returning to Hong Kong, he taught photography at various institutes and universities, and spent over a decade in the Professional Department of Kodak Company HK. Currently, he teaches photography at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and works as a technical consultant and writer for several magazines.
Final tips:
展覽旨在探索香港獨有的歷史文化遺産，更是珍貴歷史影像結合數碼藝術的有趣實踐。
The exhibition aims to explore the unique historical culture of Hong Kong while combing photography and AI-generated art.
圍城之聲 : 探索九⿓城寨｜Voices of the walls: Kowloon’s Walled City explored
Date:
2024.10.17 – 2024.12.1
Venue:
Blue Lotus Gallery
香港上環磅巷28號｜28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan
Courtesy to Artists and Blue Lotus Gallery