The Past is Before Us (2.0): Picture before Picture

The Past is Before Us (2.0): Picture before Picture

This exhibition explores things about the "past" and the development of the old medium of photography in contemporary art. Mixed media works are also on display: Alfred Ko Chi Keung's Van Dyke Brown prints, Alex Chung's Van Dyke Brown and Salt prints, Wong Wo Bik's Cyanotype and Anthotype prints, Almond Chu's hand-printed Platinum prints, Carol Chow Pui Ha's Silk screen and photo-transfer prints, Ada Au's Mixed media with Cyanotype, Tam Wai Ping's slide and video film projection, Francis Yu's photographic image, painting and ready made objects installation, and Makin Fung Bing Fai's digital projection interactive works demonstrate the expansion of contemporary photography.

The exhibition discusses three interrelated issues: the first is the issue of the present nature of the "past". In the display of art, the "past" becomes an issue of the "present". The second is a discussion about "time". In the world of the Internet, "time" does not develop in a straight line: the existence of "time" is often related to the "matters" that accompany time. The flowing time and the recurring occurrence of things make people confused about the authenticity of time and things. In addition, there are also "times/events" of different sizes/events between "times/events". How do artists view this complex and uncontrollable situation? The third one is about the impact of the development of old photography media, new digital media, and diverse creative techniques on the final presentation of the work. In addition to relying on images taken at a certain moment, photographic works also often require a lot of time and processes in post-production. During this process, they will experience the test of materials, the challenge of the authenticity of narrative content/influence, and the emergence of various possible images in creation. How does the artist decide the final image of the work?

Nine Hong Kong artists show their personal views on things/art from different topics. Alfred Ko chooses Van Dyke's method to find the most appropriate emotional state in the production process, which is full of possibilities. Almond Chu reverses time and looks back at today's situation from a fictional future. The present becomes unreal, and the painted color added later seems to retain some aspect of the truth. Alex Chung combines ancient stories and scenes of modern life in an attempt to piece together a unique landscape for Hong Kong. Wong Wo Bik refers to a film that transcended the general standard of time and image as a blueprint to construct a series of illusory and mysterious stories. Carol Chow's criss-crossing images, family photos from an unstable society in the past, and modern urban scenes lament the vanishing past and blurred future. Ada Au's works mix sensibility and intellectuality, using childhood objects and real-time images to reflect her current situation. Tam Wai Ping thinks about the issue of eternal time, using dark space and almost static images to discuss the reality that exists now, and that time will continue to flow and exist. Francis Yu has always been thinking about the meaning of the totality of form and the emotions it can carry, and uses multiple media to create pictures and objects that carry feelings of Hong Kong. Makin Fung uses new media to restore the original images of the exhibited artists and invites viewers to participate. What role can artificial intelligence and the participation of live audiences play in restoring the earliest images? Fung's works can serve as another summary version of this exhibition.

In memories and information that can be found, the artist uses ancient and non-single media to re-place past things and emotions in the current situation and discuss the artistic concepts that non-linear thinking can carry.

Text / Tang Ying Chi
ARTIST: Makin Fung Bing Fai

Majoring in Film during university, he studied under Dr. Lin Nian-tong, a master of Chinese cinema's "Jing You Aesthetics." After graduation, he actively engaged in the creation of local underground electronic music and experimental video art, becoming one of the pioneers of electronic media art in Hong Kong during the 1980s. Fung has worked in record labels, radio, and television, and has participated in production of feature film and documentary. His band, Folk Revival, released albums under EMI (Hong Kong) and was commissioned to perform by the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Fung's MFA graduate work in 2005, Variable Poetry with Unstable Media, was among the earliest local works to propose and explore the aesthetic concept of "variable media."
ARTIST: Alfred Ko Chi Keung

Born in Hong Kong, Alfred Ko Chi Keung studied photography at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Canada. He returned to Hong Kong in 1977 and has worked as a freelance photographer ever since. Starting from 1978, he has been teaching photography in various institutes in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Arts Centre. Ko was awarded Photographer of the Year by the Hong Kong Artists' Guild in 1992. Ko is a founding member of Hong Kong Institute of Professional Photography and is currently the Honorary Chairman of Hong Kong Photographic Culture Association. His works are collected by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and various private collectors.
ARTIST: Ada Au

Ada Au graduated from the Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) program, co-presented by the Hong Kong Art School and RMIT University, majoring in Photography. Au received the Fresh Trend Award at the Fresh Trend Art Graduates Joint Exhibition (2021). Ada is interested in exploring various materials and utilizing their unique features to create art, through which she expresses her ideas and engages in self-exploration. The mediums she uses include photography, painting, installation, and mixed media. Her work often reflects her perceptions of the world. She enjoys the process of making art and believes that artworks can be influential, inspiring, and therapeutic to people.
ARTIST: Tam Wai Ping

Born in Hong Kong in 1967, Tam graduated from the Department of Fine Art at the University of Reading, United Kingdom in 1991, and then pursued postgraduate studies (Painting Studio) at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London (UCL), graduating with distinction in 1995. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Tam works in various media with a special focus on image-making, installation, and land art. His works have been exhibited in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and other regions. The early artistic endeavour of Tam strove to explore the different relations of truth and reality. Facing dilemmas, he seeks to survey the association of history and contemporary life, as well as between human beings and the land, and another artistic pursuit is the investigation of "modernity" in Asian meanings. In recent years, Tam explores the association of painting, text, objects, and imagery to review how art can be an experience of conscious mind.
ARTIST: Wong Wo Bik

Wong Wo Bik obtained an MFA in 1979 and ACC Fellowship in 1993. Her solo publications include Color & Consent (1983), Hong Kong/China Photographers Four: Wong Wo Bik (2009). Her photographs are published internationally in Women & Photography (2017), Une histoire mondiale des femmes photographes (French/English, 2021/2022). Recent exhibition projects include: LOOK17: Cities of Exchange: Liverpool/Hong Kong (2017), Liverpool, UK; Hi! Flora, Fauna (2021), HKZBG; Gardening of soul–Harmony in Dissonance (2023), held at House of Art, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic; The Past is Before Us: Alternative Photography–Bleu (2023), held at Bohemia Farmstudio, Czech Republic; Re-composing History with Impression (Czech–Hong Kong) (2024), Hong Kong. Her works have evolved from photography to experiments with other media, early works with dance performance, current video installations and alternative photography. She constantly reveals nature vs cityscapes, conflict vs balance, and fabrication vs reality. Wong's works are collected by Hong Kong Heritage Museum, M+ Museum, Soho House HK, Guangdong Museum of Art, and the Archive of Modern Conflict, UK.
ARTIST: Francis Yu

Francis Yu received his BFA in Visual Arts from York University, Toronto, an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London, and a PhD in Theory and Practice of Painting at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. He had held faculty positions at different art institutions, including Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong Art School, taught painting, drawing, and contemporary art. He has held 12 solo exhibitions and presented his works in more than 60 group exhibitions. Francis Yu is engaged in developing an interdisciplinary approach to examine his conception of "Total Painting" through the synthesis of different art forms, including painting, drawing, photography, video, and performance, while working with texts, images, objects, and spaces in a dialectical interrogation of the art-making process.
ARTIST: Alex Chung

Alex Chung was born in Hong Kong, holds a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Hong Kong, and has over two decades of experience teaching sociology at various tertiary institutions. In 2017, Chung completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Photography, with works exhibited in Hong Kong and Spain. Recently, Chung has begun teaching photography at tertiary institutions, focusing on the research and creation of alternative photographic processes. Leveraging his sociological background, Chung has a deep interest in socio-cultural phenomena in which some of the idea is integrated into his photographic work.
ARTIST: Carol Chow Pui Ha,

Carol Chow Pui Ha earned her PhD in Communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and her Master of Visual Arts from Hong Kong Baptist University. With a multidisciplinary background in philosophy, communication, and visual arts (specializing in photography), she is committed to integrating theoretical frameworks with contemporary social issues. Her research, creative work, and curatorial practice aim to generate knowledge through the reflective and critical power of photography. Carol's work spans documentary photography, art photography, and visual ethnography, with a focus on themes such as history, cultural identity, memory politics, and the power dynamics embedded in various sectors. Her works have been exhibited internationally, including in the UK, the United States, Spain, Sweden, and Hong Kong, China.
ARTIST: Almond Chu

Almond Chu graduated from the Fine Art Photography Department of the Tokyo College of Photography, Japan. Chu set up his studio in 1993, engaged in art creation and commercial projects. Almond's work has been exhibited and featured in numerous international photography publications. He has received numerous award and honours: nominated for The Shpilman International Prize of Excellence in Photography held by the Israel Museum (2018), Excellent Photographer Award from Pingyao International Photography Festival in China (2017), Asia Photo Awards' the Grand award and Gold Award (2007). In 2005, he founded the art photography organization pH5 Photo Group, which focus on promoting art photography in Hong Kong. He is also the founder of the Hong Kong International Photo Festival. In 2004, he was invited to be one of the prominent speakers of the Internationally Literary and Aesthetic Symposium organized by Bonn University and the Art & Exhibition Hall of Deutschland, Germany. In 1993, he was awarded the Agfa Fellowship Young Photographer Award by Asian Culture Council (previously the John D. Rockefeller III Fund Asian Cultural Program). His works have been collected by The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Russia), M+ Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong, and Guangdong Museum of Art, among others.
CURATOR: Tang Ying Chi

Tang Ying Chi obtained her bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College of the University of London in England and master’s and doctoral degrees in Fine Art from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Australia respectively. She is an active arts practitioner who merged various roles as practicing artist, educator, curator and writer. Apart from exhibiting works, she also obtained numerous honours and awards, such as Professor May-ching Kao Arts Development Fund (2021), Hong Kong Artists Exchange Programme in Gyeongju, Korea, organised by Gyeongju City and Gyeongbuk Newspaper (2017), Visiting Fellow at the Hong Kong Design Institute (2016-17), Artist Residency at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence and Art Quarter Budapest in Hungary (2015), Artist-in-Residence at the Department of Visual Studies of Lingnan University (2010), Artist Residency at the Faculty of Art of Chiangmai University in Thailand (2012), People of the Time at the 60th Anniversary of the British Council in Hong Kong (2008), Re-Wanchai: Hong Kong International Artists' Workshop, by The AiR Association Limited and Triangle Arts Trust (2005), and the Urban Council Fine Arts Award at the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial (1996).
Carol Chow Pui Ha, Phantom_000, 2025. Silk screen print on paper, 74 × 74 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Almond Chu, Time Tunnel 14, 2021. Hand-painted platinum print, 28 × 35.5 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Alfred Ko Chi Keung, Facing East, 2023. Van Dyke Brown print on water colour paper, 50 × 33 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Francis Yu, Fatty beef hot pot, Staycation, Kowloon Hotel, 2025. B/W print on Ilford paper, digital print on canvas paper, oil and acrylic paint on the surface, exhaust fan, 200 × 300 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Tam Wai Ping, Three Lights, 2025. Single-screen 4K projection. Courtesy of the artist.
Alex Chung, The classic of mountains and seas_Preface 03, 2025. Van Dyke Brown print on glass, 20.32 × 25.4 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Ada Au, Knitting (partial), 2025. Mixed media made with cyanotype printed on process paper yarn and rice paper, 21 × 250 cm each, total 6 pieces. Courtesy of the artist.
Wong Wo Bik, The Palace Party, 2025. Cyanotype fabrics + photo transfer, Chinese text, French monologuein MP3, 40 × 55 cm / 42 × 29.5 cm / 1.5 min. Courtesy of the artist.
Makin Fung Bing Fai, Conglomeration of Alternative Photography (screen capture, segment), 2025. Interactive digital images installation with multiple (2 + 1) TV sets and motion sensors. Courtesy of the artist.

The Past is Before Us (2.0): Picture before Picture

The Past is Before Us (2.0): Picture before Picture

Three Shadows Beijing

Three Shadows Xiamen

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