Private View

I am exhibiting 2 recent projects in my first London Solo show. Until the 26th of September, 'In Case it Rains in Heaven' and 'Memories, Dreams; Interrupted' will be on show at Photofusion, 17A Electric Lane, London, SW9 8LA.

Private view will be tomorrow, Thursday 5th of August between 18:30-21:00. Come along if you are free.

I will also be doing a conversation with Bridget Coaker, curator, picture editor and director of photography for Troika Editions, on Tuesday, 21st of September from 19:00.

Hope to see some of you there tomorrow.

22 Clicks from the Sea

While there has been lots of media coverage about the BP oil leak, there has also been a lot of talks about the journalists/photographers being detained, questioned by both corporate security staff and government authorities.

Although, sensitivities around the oil refineries along the Texas Gulf coast has been around long before the leak. I set off on a project (22 Steps to the Sea) along the gulf coast 2 years ago and I was stopped on numerous occasions, by the police, the fire department, the Coast Guards, the Homeland Security, all citing national security for the reason that I am getting stopped and moved on, even though I was photographing on public areas. 11 incidents later, FBI alert was mentioned, I had enough and abandoned the project.

However, with all the recent talks, I have decided to revisit the project. Since all the images from the project were taken along public roads, I was curious to see if I could take the same pictures on Google Map. Of the 25 images I chose for my edit, 21 were found on Google Streetview and the remaining 4 were available on satellite view. (Images will be uploaded to my website soon.)

Maybe I should finish my original project and continue along the coastline in the comfort of my own home. (before they switch Google off too...)

How much time do you spend photographing?

I often get asked by friends who are not photographers, how much time do I spend photographing. If I am being honest, probably about 5% of my working week. April was a bit of a blur for me. After going to Houston for Fotofest, I have been busy following up with all the new contacts I have made there. I was then busy looking into book printers as I was hoping to produce a catalogue for my up-coming shows, then I got nominated for a couple of grants and have been busy writing proposals for them.

Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful with the grants, decided that I can't really afford the catalogue and nothing solid has materialized from Houston (yet). So I can't help but think that I have wasted a month of my time in Hong Kong. I haven't taken a picture in over 5 weeks!

On a positive note, I have decided to extend my stay in Hong Kong as there's no way I would be able to finish my current project within the next two months. Also several images from my latest project will be previewed in a show in Arles this July which is brilliant. Here's a few of the early images from the project.

©Kurt Tong

©Kurt Tong

©Kurt Tong

Put down that camera

No, it's not me being told off for photographing in public, after all, I am not in England anymore where you could get arrested for photographing your own child in the park.

This is me telling all the budding photographers here to put down that damn camera. I have never realised how into photography people are in Hong Kong. The amount of gear on display in a single playground here probably cost more than my mortgage. Except the majority of them (don't get me wrong, there are some really good photographers here too) don't seem to know what to photograph with their Leica or their Canon Image stabilising lens. So they are snapping away like headless chickens.

Going to the playground with my girls could be so annoying sometimes. Parents are more keen to take the perfect photo of their child than to let them play and they mean business. They make Britney Spear's paparazzi look like friendly fluffy bunnies. Posing, reposing and reposing again with the v sign, just push that bloody swing and let them enjoy themselves. And they have no reservations about taking pictures of my kids. Not that I am a paranoid parent but could they at least ask for permission first.

I went to a really interesting exhibition last week where local artists took over an old police accommodations building. Many of the rooms were used for installations. The part I like best were inspired by traditional and independent businesses in Hong Kong. But I swear, I was the only person there without a camera. No one paid any attention to the art at all, only what picture they can take for themselves. Most of them packed enough for a National Geographical assignment. Maybe if they actually look at the art on display, they might get inspired and find something they want to photograph, rather than just blindly snapping away.

Queen Victoria, Chairman Mao and Me

This is the title of the new project that I am shooting in Hong Kong at the moment. This temporary relocation to Hong Kong has been on the cards for several years. I have wanted to spend at least six months here ever since my first daughter was born. We are doing it so that she would at least pick up some Cantonese before she starts school.

It was what I was going to do while I am here that was the hard part. I have had several years to think about this, which is never good. 'Great ideas' became 'what was I thinking ideas'. In the end, I decided that this six months will be a pure indulgence and I will do a project that I truly wanted to do, something that is close to my heart.

The project will be about Hong Kong and it's history, told only through my family history. It far more difficult to shoot than it sounds since the government and the developers here have little sentiment. Buildings get knocked down hastily with no desire to preserve any history. As I don't want to use too many old photographs in the project, which means I have set myself difficult challenges of visualising history with very little actual objects or places to photograph.

I have been here six weeks now and found out more about my ancestors than I have in the previous 32 years of my life. That's itself has been worth doing the project. I will be posting more entries from now on. I do have the perfect excuse for being lazy though as my laptop die on me a few weeks ago and I didn't fancy typing on my ipod.

To sign off, I wanted to share a picture of my Grandfather. It's the picture he sent to my grandmother via the matchmaker prior to their first meeting. He is the slick dude on the left, on the right was the most gormless guy he could find, whom he dragged along to the shoot in order to look better. I think Danny Devito would look good next to him.

Hong Kong

It's has been a long time since my last post. I had planned on to write about all the fantastic work that I saw in Houston back in November, in fact several unfinished posts are sitting on my blogger's dashboard, gathering virtual dust. But this Christmas period has been unusually busy for me and I have also temporarily relocated to Hong Kong with my family. The packing pretty much took up most of January. I have several exciting projects planned which I will go into more details here soon.

In the mean time, if you happened to be in Wolverhampton, Farewell in labrador and People's Park are both on display at the Light House until the 26th of March.

If you are keen to catch up with my happenings, here's a link to my newsletter

Please check back soon as I will be posting about my new projects just as soon as I get my arse in gear and start taking some pictures.

Kurt

International Discoveries II

If you happened to be in Houston during the next six/seven weeks, drop in by Fotofest to see the International Discoveries II exhibition. Press release attached.

I will be there for the opening and an artist talk on the 7th. See their website for details.

I have been so busy in the pass few weeks, I have completely neglected my blog. I shall hopefully be posting a few more posts after I return from the States. Lots of things in the pipeline.

International Discoveries II

November 5 - December 19, 2009

Houston, Texas

FOTOFEST

1113 Vine Street, Houston, Texas, USA

Wei Bi, Untitled, 2004

HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 - Spirit money for the souls of the deceased. Parisian children at a masquerade party. Japanese pine forests. Suburbs in northern Mexico. Memories of a Chinese prison. These are part of International Discoveries II, a new exhibit being unveiled by FotoFest in Houston, Texas.

International Discoveries II is the second exhibition in a series created by FotoFest in 2007 to showcase new contemporary talent discovered by FotoFest curatorial staff at photography events across the world. International Discoveries II opens November 5, 2009, 6 - 9pm at FotoFest, 1113 Vine Street in Houston, Texas. This exhibition is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 10am – 5pm; Saturday noon – 5pm.

“Against the currents of instant replay and digital animations, International Discoveries gives voice to the complexities of still time and the beauty of the paper-based print,” says FotoFest’s lead curator Wendy Watriss. “It focuses our attention on the single image, an object or a single moment in life.”

Nine artists from four continents are featured in the exhibition: Wei Bi (China); Alejandro Cartegena (Mexico); Minstrel Kuik Ching Chieh (Malaysia and France); Christine Laptuta (Canada and the United States); Rizwan Mizra (United Kingdom); Vee Speers (Australia and France); Kurt Tong (United Kingdom and China); Takeshi Shikama (Japan); Mimi Youn (United Kingdom and Korea).

International Discoveries II reflects a simultaneous turning to the past and the future, which characterizes so much of contemporary photo-based art. The prints in the exhibit display the delicate formalism of 19th century palladium and platinum printing, the intimacy of the mid-20th century Polaroid process, and 21st century large-format inkjet technology.

These works are marked by a contemporary hybridism of form and content, mixing the modern technologies and social realities of industrial societies with the spirituality and sensibilities of more traditional cultures.

“The discovery and presentation of these artists is made possible by the recent emergence of photographic gatherings throughout the world and the current interconnections between international photography festivals, Biennials and commercial art fairs.” says Fred Baldwin, FotoFest Co-founder.

“The works in this exhibition have been selected over the past 15 months from photography events and portfolio reviews in Singapore (Singapore International Photography Festival, 2008); Daegu, Korea (Daegu Photo Biennal2008); Birmingham, England (Rhubarb-Rhubarb) ; Guangzhou, China (Guangzhou 2009 Photo Biennial); Paris, France (Paris Photo); Portland, Oregon (Photo Lucida); Mexico City, Mexico ( XII FotoBienial).”

Since its founding in 1983, FotoFest has been a leader in international exchange. In 2000, FotoFest was a principal force in the formation of the international Festival of Light (festivaloflight.net) network, uniting 22 festivals around the world from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Odense, Denmark, Montreal, Canada and Moscow, Russia. FotoFest’s well-known Meeting Place portfolio review for artists has been replicated by events in 20 countries in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Australia. The International Discoveries series is a product of these international interconnections and collaborations between festivals.

International Discoveries II is on view at FotoFest, 1113 Vine Street, Houston, Texas 77002,

Monday - Friday 10am - 5pm, Saturday noon-5pm. Admission to FotoFest exhibitions is free.

For more information on FotoFest Exhibitions and other programs, please visit www.fotofest.org.

For further information, interviews and visuals, please contact:

Vinod Hopson, FotoFest Press Officer, T: 713.223.5522 ext 26, E: press3@fotofest.org