Elements of Hong Kong
A Visual Archive of the Everyday
2020 - ongoing - Hong Kong
MULTIMEDIA PROJECT - PHOTOGRAPHY / DIGITAL / WEBDESIGN / ANALOG / BOOK DESIGN
Hong Kong's iconic skyline tells only part of its story. Beyond the towering skyscrapers lies a vibrant tapestry of creativity and ingenuity shaping everyday life. In a city defined by its density and rugged terrain, innovative solutions emerge to navigate and thrive. Elements of Hong Kong is a visual archive capturing these moments of resourcefulness across the city's diverse districts.
Inspired by Rem Koolhaas' Elements of Architecture, Elements of Hong Kong is a visual archive celebrating the creativity woven into the fabric of daily life in Hong Kong.
This project was initiated by Kris Provoost and was a result of being trapped within the borders of Hong Kong during the COVID pandemic. It continues after borders reopened. As I explored different areas of the city, I started collecting the everyday. This project started in 2020. It will run for as long as I see fit.
The online visual archive can be found here: ELEMENTS of Hong Kong
New photos gets added throughout the year.
Photography
The photography is deliberately straightforward, The subject is put center in the photo. This is done to be able to sub-categorize them later on. Each elements is organized in several sub-categories to be able to compare and have a clear and clean overview.
These photos are also taken by a mixture of camera and mobile phone. Due to the comprehensive amount of photos, the best camera remains the one you have always with you.
Digital
The web-design for the digital archive is kept clean. Bold text with easy to navigate categories allows the viewer to quickly grasp the breath of designs in these often generic looking features. The option to navigate in different areas of Hong Kong is incorporated and allows you to see differences in design between Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Territories.
Photos are filed through a Google Drive mechanism and visualized in this archive automatically. This allows the archive to grow rapidly when new photos are taken.
Book Design (in progress)
The next step in this project is the production of a physical book. The large amount of different designs found in the Elements of Hong Kong are subcategorized in ‘thematic grids’ This allows the reader to see similar designs next to each other.
Elements are color coded for easy viewing. The end result will be a significant tome celebrating the generic designs of Hong Kong. And that is meant in the most positive way.
