I shot this surreal painting at the Hong Kong Art Fair 2012. This is the work of the Korean artist Yongbaek LEE, who performs in all fields of contemporary art, from media art, sculpture, and photography, to painting. The realism and flashy colours of this one instantly caught my eye.
Some other Yongbaek LEE's artworks are available on Google Art Project.
During a company outing in Xiamen (China), we visited the Shuzhuang Garden (叔庄花园 - ShūZhuāng HuāYuán) located on the south of Gulangyu Island (鼓浪屿 - GǔLàngYǔ). With its freighters in the background, this garden embodies contemporary China, trying to reconcile its ancestral traditions and the omnipresent industrial power.
The classic pictures of the floating market of Cai Be (Vietnam) show a multitude of boats, loaded of colourful fruits and vegetables. But the surrounding shanties and their high TV antennas left an even bigger mark on my mind.
Since always, the Chinese use to preserve fish by drying it under the sun. It is a good way to keep the catch surplus and expensive fishes for more appropriate days. Moreover, it is believed that eating certain food such as oysters during Chinese New Year celebrations will bring good luck. Each year, this tradition makes all sorts of fishes popping-up all over China. And a maritime city like Hong Kong is not an exception.
Zomppa published a nice article about dried fish in Hong Kong and its outlying islands.
In Paris, more than 60% of private accommodations are studios or 2 rooms. So small that it may be difficult to fit any washing machine of the market in. As a consequence, laundromat cropped up all over the streets of the French capital. Who knows how many hours students spend every day in those soapy, strip lighted, whirring rooms ?
Like in most Asian main cities, Hong Kong is swarmed with taxis. The red vehicles travel along the island streets, waiting for night birds to hail them for a direct ride to their beds.
This example found in the streets of London shows how basic advertising technics, such as typography, can impact audience more than any fancy picture on a 8m² billboard.
I found again this enigmatic picture in my archives. I don't remember exactly where I took it, but it was in Paris for sure, during one of my numerous walks. I use to go randomly through the small paths of the cities I visit. My favourite game: to get lost in an unknown neighbourhood.
At the west of the Yu Garden (豫园 - Yù Yuán), inside the almost circular Renmin lu (人民路 - Rénmínlù), Shanghai still hides some old streets in the heart of the modern city. With their typical 3-floor houses, they give a good preview of how Shanghai looked a few decades ago. But those neighborhoods gradually disappear, under huge concrete screeds poured by a greedy administration. Hurry up if you want to enjoy those charming but becoming extinct spots !
I was in Stockholm for a couple of weeks in summer 2008. I assisted to the Stockholm Pride Festival which lasts a full week and welcomes lots of concerts, debates and parties. We infiltrated the Pride Parade, in which Swedish associations celebrate their pride. Among the groups of policemen, firemen and Securitas' guards, I noticed the cortege of Amnesty International volunteers and their inevitable yellow placards.
