Ho Fan
Hong Kong’s very own legendary street photographer Ho Fan made what may be his last trip back to his beloved home town recently. Ho, now aged 83, made the journey with his wife from his new home of California on the occasion of a new exhibition at AO: Vertical Art Space (which runs until 31 January 2015) including some new work.
Ho and his family fled Shanghai for Hong Kong when he was aged 18. The ‘great master’ or the ‘Cartier-Bresson of the East’, as he is otherwise known, earned his fame as one of Asia’s greatest photographers by the work he did in the 50s and 60s capturing Hong Kong — its streets and its people. While most prolific during his 20s, Ho has continued to work throughout his life, accumulating more than 300 awards in his lifetime and seeing his work collected by some of the most reputable galleries and museums worldwide.
Ho’s work is instantly recognisable for its incredibly modern-looking compositions, use of light and sense of drama and geometry. The new work has been produced from 2011 onwards, when Ho began revisiting negatives from his most productive years that had never been printed. The new pieces include the use of new technology, overlapping and superimposing negatives, and the use of Photoshop.
A new book entitled Hong Kong Memoirs has been published by Asia One for the occasion and is available to purchase on the AO Vertical website.
