Hong Kong’s Disappearing Tong Lau: A Panoramic Perspective by Photographer Stefan Irvine
Main Bar, Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Central 
Why We Recommend it
This exhibition showcases the meticulous collaborative effort between photographer Stefan Irvine and post-production expert Jörg Dietrich to showcase Hong Kong’s shophouse buildings (騎樓) in a new light.
Description
This series of panoramic photographs offers a unique perspective on Hong Kong’s architecture, and is a
celebration of its rich urban heritage.
The exhibition focuses predominantly on Hong Kong’s tong lau (騎樓), also known as Chinese ‘shophouse’ buildings. Iconic tong lau buildings and features that are spotlighted in the exhibition include the curved corner houses of Ki Lung Street and To Kwa Wan Road, high-density composite buildings (Wah Fu Estate and Ki Lung Street), as well bamboo scaffolding, multi-coloured paint schemes, and the arcaded heritage facades of Shanghai Street.
The production process of the linear panoramas demands meticulous planning and careful attention to detail, such as makes several trips to each location, capturing the entire facade of the buildings at precise intervals and distances, taking into account moving objects and people in the scene. The photographs from multiple perspectives are then digitally merged and manipulated by Jörg Dietrich into one expansive, seamless image, creating a singular visualisation of the architecture in an entire city block.
Details
When: 3 Jan 2018 - 28 Feb 2018 Where: Main Bar, Foreign Correspondents’ Club – North Block, 2 Lower Albert Road – Central
