Ritual of Synthesis: Photography in Contemporary Art

Description

Siu employs an analogue approach to photography and explores its materiality in his series. He developed a series of prints using the leading end of photographic roll film that is exposed to light before being loaded into the camera. By taking individual still images with a super 8 film camera, a device made for capturing moving images, he explores the nature of photography through the context of moving images.

Li is fascinated by the landscape and still life objects of the every day. His works explore the passing of time and its effect on the imagery and materiality of still life photography. He also experiments with alternative photographic printing in “Fading Harbour”, for which the image is developed using flame tree flower extract – an anthotype technique that makes use of plant pigment as a photosensitive material. Because of the absence of the fixation process to prevent further exposure, the image eventually disappears due to over-exposure. The work reminds viewers of the inability of photography to preserve a captured moment forever.

Lau explores the effect of modern technology on our daily life and the way it affects viewers’ perception of reality. “Spy Ball” captures and tracks the movements of gallery visitors with an assemblage of a sepak takraw ball (from the traditional Southeast Asian game) with 11 spy cameras. The live-feed footages are glitched by cross-feeding signals, as well as streamed through a multi-channel surveillance digital video recorder. The work reflects on the accessibility of technology in modern times and our increasingly active role in creating images of our surroundings.