0034PL2SK. A Polaroid Postcard from New York to Hong Kong
(POLAROID, 4x5 inch, colour, 1990)
At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, we began exploring the idea of expanding our photography career to New York. By then, we had already completed a good number of well-received projects in Hong Kong. At the end of 1989, we rented a basement studio in SoHo as our photography workspace. Holly and I frequently traveled between Hong Kong and New York—sometimes together, sometimes separately.
On one of these trips, shortly after arriving in New York, I received a fax from designer Wang Xu, who was based between Hong Kong and Guangzhou. He commissioned me to shoot the cover for Design Exchange, an issue focusing on overseas Chinese designers. A large-format, high-quality design publication, Design Exchange was known for its sophisticated layouts and thoughtful content. Whenever a cover required photography, I was often entrusted with the shoot, granted significant creative freedom—a collaborator who could share creative insights with the editor.
Among my various cover shoots, one of my test Polaroids later became part of the M+ Museum collection. For this particular assignment in New York, I incorporated a Tung Shing almanac purchased in Chinatown. Unlike those commonly used in Asia, this overseas edition was tailored specifically for earlier Chinese immigrants. The tools featured in the image—once essential to designers—were all sourced from Pearl Paint, a well-known art supply store in New York. With the rise of digital software, such physical tools have since become relics of another era.
As the focal point of the composition, I integrated a piece of Duchamp’s rotary element. The 4×5 transparencies were sent directly to the client in Hong Kong by courier, but I kept a particular Polaroid, modifying it by covering the background entirely with tape, transforming it into a new creation. I affixed a stamp and mailed it back to Hong Kong as a personal keepsake.
從紐約寄回香港的寶麗來明信片
在80年代與90年代交界，我們有一個念頭，往紐約開展我們的攝影事業。當時在香港，已做了一定數量有個性的工作個案及成績。1989年底，我們在紐約蘇豪區租了一個地庫作攝影工作間。我與楚喬，或一同或個別，常常來回於香港及紐約兩地。有一趟剛巧來到紐約，接到在香港和廣州間設計師王序的傳真，要為「設計交流」拍攝封面，該期內容為：海外華人設計師。「設計交流」是一份大開度，精緻而又很有份量的設計刊物。每期的封面，如果是採用攝影的，通常都是由我負責，而且自由度也很高。當然，這也需要大家有合拍的語言。我為該刊拍攝封面，其中一幀原使用作測試的寶麗來，如今也成了M+美術館的藏品。再回來說在紐約拍的，那以海外華人設計師為主題的照片。照片中的「通勝」是在紐約唐人街購得，這個海外唐人街版本與我們在亞洲所使用的版本很不同，有不少內容只適合海外老華僑使用。其中設計師使用工具，均在紐約 Pearl Paint 店購買。今天的設計師，都是使用桌上軟件，這些硬體物，相信是完全陌生了。我在照片加進了杜象的旋轉物。 眼也睛也。4x5 正片冲洗後已直接寄給香港的客戶，獨是這張測試用的寶麗來，我用膠紙完全遮蓋了原來的背景，它已轉化成為了另一件創作，貼上郵票把它寄回香港，算是留給自己的記念物。