Artist's 'DIY' photo exhibition touring Hong Kong on a tram
“Like a kid who pretends to be a policeman or fireman, I pretend to be a photographer.” So says French-Australian artist K-Narf as he talks about the mini photo gallery he’s put up in a Hong Kong tram.
He likes to integrate digital photography with “bricolage” – French for do-it-yourself. In K-Narf’s case, that means mounting a display using only the materials you can buy in a DIY or office supplies store.
For the tram project – a collaboration with Hong Kong Tramways and French pastry chef Pierre Hermé – K-Narf rode trams for a day taking pictures using a non-professional digital camera.
K-Narf, a frequent visitor to Hong Kong, is charmed by its wet markets, and took lots of pictures of hanging fresh chickens, meat and goods for sale. He also captured shopkeepers playing mah-jong.
He printed the photos using a portable inkjet printer, then cut them out, mounted them in frames and put them up in the tram. He calls the effect “neo-vintage”.
“For me, photography is more about how I make photography and what I do with it rather than just taking photos,” K-Narf says.
The Tokyo-based artist also decorated the tram in aluminium packing tape to create the feel of a photography lab.
The exhibition will run for six weeks. If you don’t happen to ride the tram he’s decorated, you can get an idea of the quirky project by visiting the Pierre Hermé shops in the IFC Mall, Harbour City, or the Ritz-Carlton hotel lobby.
