Finding Love And Light in 1950s Hong Kong

“Design, in its broadest sense, is the enabler of the digital era – it’s a process that creates order out of chaos, that renders technology usable to business. Design means being good, not just looking good.”

– Clement Mok

Ho Fan is an incredible actor, film director and photographer with over 280 awards from exhibitions, competitions – all international; since 1956. He was born on the 8^th of October, 1937 in Shanghai, but Ho and his family moved to Hong Kong soon after this birth. After getting his hands on a Rolleiflex, a German camera that used medium format twin lens reflex, he fell in love with the ability of captivating the essence in a photo.

Ho taught himself how to take photos, how to even develop them – he used his bathtub to do so. Ho was fascinated by urban life, exploring alleys, slums, markets and streets, and managing to retain their magic. He successfully, and brilliantly I may add, created a photographic chronicle of Hong Kong in the 50’s and 60’s.“Upon seeing Ho Fan’s work for the first time in 2006, gallery owner Laurence Miller commented that – they felt like direct descendants of the Bauhaus, yet they were made in Hong Kong.

They were abstract and humanistic at the same time;” Ho Fan also stared and directed short films, and feature films – “According to Mark Pinsukanjana, director of Modernbook Gallery in San Francisco, CA, his debut feature Lost from 1969 is Ho’s favorite. As Pinsukanjana said describes: “In “Lost”, one will see the chaotic life of one man in Hong Kong. The film follows him and finds the beauty that surrounds him; he is lost because he never saw it. I think that one can say that this is similar to Fan Ho’s photographs in the sense that Hong Kong is crowded, busy and chaotic to many, but for Fan Ho, he was able to convert what he found and find beauty.“

Lets see for ourselves how Ho Fan amazed the world!

1. Inside of Emptiness

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It’s something about this photo that makes me think about the sadness that lies in a persons soul. As we experience life, with its ups and downs, some of us pick the short straw. We are flawed, as humans can be, we make mistakes without realizing the meaning behind them – we tend not to learn from past errors. Ho Fan seems to captivate the struggle of a woman, staring at the ground, being immersed into the emptiness of it all. It’s peaceful in a sort of twisted way.

2. Shadows Collide

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I always wanted to live in such a place, with culture flourishing at every little corner. I know, the view isn’t great if you have in mind meadows, the skyline or the beach, but staring at the architecture, the people rushing in the streets, it just inspires me to do great things. I would sit on that tiny little balcony and paint, or write, all day. I would get my acoustic guitar and serenade the bystanders, or I would take little snippets of photos for my memoir.

3. Look On

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Can’t let life kick you down, you need to look on, keep moving – the world won’t wait for you. You see this man? I bet he had dreams of doing what he loved, maybe he wanted to become a teacher and bestow his knowledge onto young minds, maybe he even was that talented and charismatic, but to achieve that goal he needed money. Money that he didn’t have. There is no shame in doing something you don’t like in order to achieve your ulterior motive.

4. Eagerness of the Young

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When you’re young you don’t really know much of the world, just what is in front of you. Sometimes you are approached in a different matter, in a way that obligates you to go seek solutions to problems you don’t understand. Curiosity didn’t kill the cat; its inaptitude to adapt to certain situations was the major factor in its demise.

All in all, this photo can represent how a child is forced to work from a young age, or it can express how curiosity creeps into your mind and heart, with a sudden urge to learn and experience new stuff; or, and here comes Captain Buzkill, it’s simply just a photo with a child trying to clean something up. Isn’t it wonderful how imagination works?

5. Ascension

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Were would we be without these brave people that risk their lives? No safety regulations, no safety equipment, heck, no insurance in case of something happens to you – you fall, you injure yourself in some way; I, for one, am terrified of heights. Just by imagining myself in their predicament I get dizzy and need to grasp my comfy chair.

I am a land person, as long as I have earth, soil beneath my two feet I will strive and I will do great things. Put me at great heights or in deep water and I become a worthless legume. What? I am not ashamed of recognizing it. I know where I stand strong, and were I don’t stand at all – everyone should know that about themselves.

6. Hong Kong Market

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Ow my sweet lord. Just look at that market. It is unbelievable. For your interest, I am madly in love with food, and to be more exact, Asian cuisine. I would just spend days on end with only smelling different spices and herbs, and tasting a ton of seafood and legumes recipes. I am not even going to get into the whole tea tasting because I would go on and on for hours.

To simply put it, this picture just gave me cravings for some “Lion’s Head Meatballs” – bok choy, with oversized pork meatballs and greens. It is to die for!

Ho Fan is an amazing artist and he truly deserves our utmost respect.

If you found something that Ho Fan created, and it didn’t made your list, or just want to drop by and say “Hi”, you can do so by posting in the comments section below. We would love to hear from you!