Istanbul … HK Cage Images Feature …
Great to see my images of cage home, coffin home and other lowest cost ‘housing’ residents in Hong Kong get another significant airing … this time at the Zeytinburnu International Photography Festival in Istanbul, Turkey in January.
“Z Foto Fest” … as it is affectionately known for short … is an International photo festival hosted by the Türkiye Fotoğraf Vakfı (Turkey Photography Foundation) and the Municipality of Zeytinburnu on the European side of Istanbul, just outside the walls of the ancient city.
This years theme for the festival is ‘Oxygen’ with the aim of strengthening public awareness on environmental issues through the power of visual arts. Oxygens stated aim is to illustrate “the concepts of ecological collapse, perishing nature, industrial waste, human helplessness at facing wars, environmental issues, destruction caused by immigration and urbanization, accumulating waste from excess consumption of society, global warming and climate change, and comparing challenging and rare beauties of nature.” A big and noble call …
With that end in mind, “Z Foto Fest” contacted me about the prospect of showing my Hong Kong ‘homes’ work … and I readily agreed. Sadly, due to other commitments, I couldn’t travel to Istanbul … one of my favourite cities … to see the result.
The work “Living in a Coffin & Cage Dwellers of Hong Kong” was shown over five days of the festival at the Zeytinburnu Cultural And Art Center alongside other artists work from Russia, Italy, Austria, USA, China and Romania under the umbrella title “Abandoned – Rural – Overcrowded”. Z Foto Fest ends on February 11th.
Below are a selection of just some of my Hong Kong images involved in the exhibit … and a grab from the “Z Foto Fest” site.
November 12th, 2012
Your coverage is amazing. I’ve been to Hong Kong and seen the crowding, but your images and text bring a whole new dimension. It is possible to imagine from your images what life must be like for these poor forgotten people. I’m amazed that you have been able to capture as many shots as you have, in view of the incredibly cramped conditions, from a technical aspect I am interested to know the camera, lens and settings that you used, if you are prepared to tell me. I’m not trying to ‘pinch’ any ideas here, I’m a pure amateur just keen to learn.
I have been following a few photo blogs, but not found one from a photo journalist so far – it gives meaning to photos, not just the pleasure of viewing. You have created, not only an accurate pictorial record, but managed to invoke emotion from your writing as well. I actually read the article before viewing the photos and you had already painted a fairly precise picture – but still the photos were moving. You have captured the essence of misery these people must live with each day.
November 18th, 2012
THANK YOU Kirsty for your kind words … very gratifying ! I must admit to having a strong commitment to this story – it was my second visit to HK to record the low cost ‘housing’ situation. Not an easy story to gain access and cover …
Regarding kit … just a Nikon D3s usually with a 24-70 or 14-24 when it got real tight! Probably used 1600 or 3200 asa for inside shots.