People-watch at the Eureka Centre

THE hustle and bustle of Hong Kong is the focus of a Ballarat International Foto Biennale exhibition hosted by the Eureka Centre.

People Watching showcases the photography of Clement Hong Yui Chan.

His images depict typical everyday scenes of people walking through Hong Kong, his home city, and keep them alive beyond the moment, while reflecting Hong Yui Chan’s own state-of-mind.

“I can’t help making up stories about people while observing their appearances, gestures, and sometimes interactions on the streets,” he said.

“But the attempt to share those observations through pictures would inevitably, using painter Francis Bacon’s words, ‘deepen the mystery’ of whatever stories that came to my mind.”

Currently in his late-20s, Hong Yui Chan’s photography captures diverse subject matter. He dabbles in different methods and styles, experimenting with lenses, appropriation, documentary, digital manipulation, and the snapshot aesthetic.

“At first glance, these photographs read like an impartial document of the people and places of this fast-paced, socially diverse Asian city,” a BIFB spokesperson said.

“However, the artist’s intention of keeping a visual memory of his people-watching experiences in Hong Kong significantly deepened throughout the project.”

Photographic festivals and art shows throughout the world have included the work of Hong Yui Chan.