'The Blue House', The Last Tong Lau, Hong Kong, 2018

Archival pigment print, collaboration with Jörg Dietrich, edition of 18
49 x 140 cm
19 5/16 x 55 1/8 inches
Signed, titled and edition numbered by Artist below the image of print.
Image size only, print size will include 10 cm bleed size all around (add 20 cm) and frame is another 2 cm all around (add 4 cm), Photographs taken in 2018, digital collage completed in 2019. - The famous Blue House (藍屋) cluster of buildings, located on Stone Nullah Lane in Wan Chai, is a prime example of pre-war tong lau architecture, and a case-study in successful heritage conservation. Once the site of a Chinese hospital, then a temple devoted to the God of Medicine, the tenement buildings now situated at 72-74 Stone Nullah Lane were built between 1922 and 1927. These Chinese shophouses were constructed with timber and bricks, featuring cantilevered balconies and wooden French doors. They once housed local shops on the street level, including a grocery store, a wine merchant and a Chinese bonesetter; while the upper 3 floors accommodated scores of local residents in around 20 subdivided apartments. While the exterior was originally painted white, when the government decided to redecorate the block in 1997, they used leftover paint from the Water Supplies Department, which is how the Blue House got its name. At that time, the section at number 74A was privately-owned and still painted white, so it was decided it should remain that colour until the present day. © Stefan Irvine. Courtesy Blue Lotus Gallery, Hong Kong.