Straight Up
Uncanny photographs reveal Hong Kong’s hidden vertical dimensions
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As one of the most densely populated and internationally plugged-in urban centers on Earth, Hong Kong can either seem like the fulfillment of a science fiction fantasy or a claustrophobic nightmare. The skyscraper city seems to have been pushed into verticality by its position at the intersection of East and West.
Whatever your reaction to it, standing in the all-encompassing heart of this melange of towering buildings makes for a vista unlike any in the world—-you just have to look up. Photographer Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze took advantage of this dazzling architectural perspective for his book Vertical Horizons, now in its second edition.
“The city is really impressive visually because it’s just full of details and there are so many things to look at,” says Lagrèze. “In another city it would look completely different, I don’t think you could find such overwhelming places outside Hong Kong.”
In addition to the vertical perspective, Lagrèze’s images are powered by the relentless symmetry he composes from the endless variety of buildings. Mashed up right next to each other are modern skyscrapers and turn-of-the-century Tong lau tenements, mirrors and metal against wood and concrete in dazzlingly kaleidoscopic formations. It’s the same recipe for futurism used in Blade Runner and Akira, and at times the images don’t even register as buildings, abstracted into geometrical formations that suggest the innards of some massive starship. The countless ways the buildings are put to use or decorated—especially the residential buildings—and the complex intermingling of signs written in Kanji and other characters make for another layer of visual complexity.
Lagrèze moved to the city four years ago as a graphic designer with a background in drawing and painting, not photography. His training gave him a strong eye for composition and form, which has served him well in his photographs. Hong Kong’s buildings were what first compelled him to pick up a camera.
“I felt like the city itself would be a nice subject, so I didn’t need to draw or do anything, I just needed to record what I was seeing,” he says. “It’s kind of like fate—the city is where I was given the inspiration for the photos so that’s what I photographed.”
Lagrèze will wander the city, usually early in the morning to catch the proper light, carrying his digital Nikon camera with a wide-angle lens. The rotating screen on the camera helps him line up his shots without breaking his neck. Often he comes back to an interesting spot after the light has improved, or at night when the city glow is reflected in the cloud cover.
The images hint at what’s going on outside of the frame. Hong Kong is a strange animal, a relatively recently ceded territory of China that plays by its own form of laissez-faire capitalism, leading to a skyrocketing GDP over the last decade. Rent control programs and the establishment of a minimum wage haven’t stopped a schismatic wealth disparity between its citizens, though. The contrast of gleaming skyscrapers and crowded tenements sums this up concisely.
Lagrèze sees his images as a meditation on the city and all its facets, good or bad. To him, the upshot of the images is an optimistic one. The broad spectrum of culture and wealth have created one of the most vibrant—if flawed—cities in the world.
“You are surrounded by buildings, which can seem oppressive, but it never seemed oppressive to me,” he says. “I’m looking up. You can always see the sky, so there is always some hope in the photos.”
Vertical Horizon and other of Lagrèze’s photos of Hong Kong will be on display at the AO Vertical Art Space from August 1 through September 19 as part of the exhibition Hong Kong Today.
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