Keith Macgregor has been photographing Hong Kong for nearly 50 years. He comes from a family with long term connections to Hong Kong and China, his great grandfather having arrived in Shanghai in the late 1850s where set up Caldbeck Macgregor Ltd, a wine & spirits importing business which eventually opened offices all over Asia, China & Hong Kong (1884).
Read MoreKeith was educated in England from 1954, finishing up at Oxford University in 1964. In 1970 he returned to Hong Kong to set up as a portrait and later a commercial photographer which led to the creation of his publishing business, Cameraman Limited. The books, calendars and postcards published were very successful. An Eye on Hong Kong, first published in 1997, sold out 6 editions. His 2nd book: Neon City, Hong Kong, at Night also sold out and became a collector's item. A 50th Anniversary of photographing Hong Kong edition is in the pipeline, as well as a book of his Panoramic images. Despite having lived in London for the past 26 years he returns frequently to take photographs of Hong Kong's ever changing landscape.
In the 'Old Hong Kong' series, Keith Macgregor documented Hong Kong during the economic boom period from the 70s to the 90s, a time of immense prosperity, social development and general optimism. Nearing the end of its status as a British colony, these photographs depict a fascinating time where the visual contrast between British and Chinese culture, as well as what could be described as the old and the new, was still immensely visible and played into what made the city dynamic yet still mystical in nature.
The 'Panoramas' body of work were all created between 2007 and 2016. Hong Kong is indeed a city of transformation and adaptation, this series expresses that through the comparison of before and after, old and new. Most cities see great change in infrastructure and real estate, however in Hong Kong, due to land reclamation the land itself has expanded as the harbour shrinks; Macgregor's 'Panoramas' documents the changing landscape or a fluid city.
'Neon Fantasies' series imagines a Hong Kong landscape where there are no restrictions on neon lights and where signs take over and cover all the darkness of the night. Where more is more and bigger is better - the works show the psyche of the city that never sleeps. Digital collage of photographs is used to present this alternate reality which also represents a new development in the work of the artist who primarily takes landscape and street photography. At the heart of the project is a nostalgic love affair with the disappearing neon lights, a longing for a bygone era before the city started to become 'sanitised' and a deep connection to the place Macgregor once called home. 'Neon Fantasies' expresses how the artist believes the city should look like today, abound in colour, diversity and optimism.
Text courtesy Blue Lotus Gallery.
