An upcoming duo exhibition, titled RECONSTRUCT, features Alexis Ip‘s scenes of nostalgic street vendors, juxtaposed with Stefan Irvine‘s scientifically accurate panoramas of the disappearing tong laus.
The exhibition will be held from August 9 to September 15, at Blue Lotus Gallery at 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan.
‘Ki Lung Street, Sham Shui Po’ by Stefan Irvine and Jörg Dietrich. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Stefan Irvine’s work focuses predominantly on Hong Kong’s Chinese
“shophouse” buildings – a type of tenement architecture at one time
popular throughout southern China for both residential and commercial
use.
‘The Blue House, Wan Chai’ by Stefan Irvine and Jörg Dietrich. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Irvine often makes several trips to each location, painstakingly
capturing the entire facade of the buildings at precise intervals and
distances.
‘Wah Fu Estate, Pok Fu Lam’ by Stefan Irvine and Jörg Dietrich. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
In collaboration with digital artist Jörg Dietrich, the images are
digitally merged and manipulated into one expansive, seamless image,
creating a singular visualisation of an entire city block.
‘To Kwa Wan Road’ by Stefan Irvine and Jörg Dietrich. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
This stitched perspective allows the viewer to experience the life
of a whole street with greater detail and more information than can be
achieved in one single shot.
‘Tung Shing Lei Road, Yuen Long’ by Stefan Irvine and Jörg Dietrich. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Several of the blocks showcased in the series, including Shanghai
Street’s listed shophouses, have been earmarked for demolition or
significant redevelopment by Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority.
‘Wai Kee Aquarium (Wanchai)’ by Alexis Ip. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Ip’s renditions of street scenes and vendors reflect his childhood
memories of growing up around Kowloon City. Through his collages he
reorganises his photographs back to its original three dimensional
state, highlighting the quirky and creative aspects to how street
vendors display their products.
‘Shun Fat Steel Utensils’ by Alexis Ip. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
The technique itself points at the innumerable details and layers that exist in the real life scenes by cutting each one out.
‘Barber Shop and Locksmith’ by Alexis Ip. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
“Normally we see everything three-dimensionally but in photography
everything is turned two dimensional,” Ip said. “What is so special
about my works is the two dimensional is turned back into three
dimensional though many layers.”
‘Chau Kee Paper Offerings’ by Alexis Ip. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
“As a result the most ordinary street scenes like a vegetable or
fruit vendor which people hardly pay attention to become magical.”
‘Fa Yuen Street’ by Alexis Ip. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Blue Lotus Gallery said that both artists tell stories of Hong
Kong’s rich heritage by responding to its disappearing architecture and
street culture.
‘Lung Kee Dried Seafood (Tsuen Wan)’ by Alexis Ip. Photo courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
“Art imitates life and RECONSTRUCT shows two artists who creatively
reorganise reality in order for us to see it more clearly, and in effect
better remember, cherish and learn from it,” said a gallery
representative.