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Visual Arts

Insights: Pierfrancesco Celada

Unveiling Hong Kong's multi-layered realities

Calendar

Published: 14 Jan 2025


Time taken : <5mins

In this long, tunnel-like walkway, solitude and gatherings, selfies and remnants, unspoken words and reflections converge, revealing an uncanny yet familiar scene within a bustling Asian metropolis. Between 2014 and 2022, Pierfrancesco Celada's encounters in Hong Kong evolved into poignant images that capture moments of restraint, contemplation and unspoken murmurs, inviting viewers to uncover their deeper meanings.

People and places stand for time; time that one remembers, and time that one imagines to be. Happy Valley is assembled as an allegory weaving through time and narrating the state of mind in pursuit of an ordinary life in Hong Kong. In the words of Celada,

Through visual metaphors, I have explored my relationship with the city, aiming to create a contemporary portrait of Hong Kong, reflecting its complex and multi-layered realities.

Installation view of Happy Valley, Pierfrancesco Celada, 2024.

Installation view of Happy Valley, Pierfrancesco Celada, 2024.


In Conversation with the Artist

Using visual metaphors to capture the essence of a city like Hong Kong can reveal so much about its culture, struggles and beauty. In the exhibition, one can read the studied observations in your photographs, but not without an undercurrent of tension and emotions. What specific themes or symbols have you incorporated to convey those complexities? Or how would you describe these visual metaphors?

I lived in Hong Kong with my family from October 2014 to May 2022. This period was marked by significant circumstances. The umbrella revolution in 2014, the series of protests in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic were events that left indelible marks on Hong Kong’s collective consciousness. I have photographed these events with the intent of drawing a contemporary portraiture of Hong Kong; but I have also explored the city in all the moments in between–when nothing happens and you can breathe the city as it is, with all its problematic areas. In my creative practice I often choose not to give a literal representation of reality, leaving the audience the possibility for free interpretation.

Installation view of Happy Valley, Pierfrancesco Celada, 2024.

Installation view of Happy Valley, Pierfrancesco Celada, 2024.

Documenting a place that isn’t your home comes with its own set of challenges and advantages. What are some you’ve encountered?

Being a foreigner and not speaking the language can be initially perceived as a disadvantage. For me, it offers the opportunity to approach the city from a different perspective, focusing on just visual cues without any other distractions.

During your public talk and tour, you discussed the position you took as observer. How do you strike a balance between an outsider’s viewpoint and the authentic local narrative?

I have often positioned myself in farther away position, observing the events from a place where the subject is the city itself; a distance that in a way minimises my position as an outsider, allowing the viewer to make up their own mind about situations and events.

The juxtaposition of a vibrant title like Happy Valley with pensive and sombre photographs creates powerful commentary. What are the ideas or intentions behind this? What do you hope people can take away with them from this exhibition?

When I feel down, I take a train to the Happy Valley is the title of the series exhibiting at the Esplanade tunnel. In Hong Kong Island, there is a tram line which has Happy Valley, a local neighbourhood, as its final stop. Sometimes it is possible to spot a tram passing by, heading towards Happy Valley, its terminal stop.

In moments when you feel the weight of society on your shoulders, I would like to imagine the possibility of a happy place that can provide a sense of hope. In those years I have repeated that idea in my head, looking for visual representations that can capture and convey these feelings.

In this new book, at which points did you have moments of eureka during your walks? And upon looking back, what are the experiences that you treasured most?

In Hong Kong, I spent many hours observing the city and its landscapes, trying different approaches and witnessing many situations, but what I treasured the most are the walks themselves.

I think every photograph is about you–the way you look at life, your observations of the city and the people. What are the thoughts or philosophies that direct and guide you through your works, especially those in Hong Kong?

I have been photographing cities for the past 10 years, focusing my attention on the most densely populated areas. While doing so, I have inevitably questioned my own relationship with the environment. Perhaps, these images are not just an attempt to capture a portrait of modern life but also in some ways, a form of self-portraiture.

What are your current or upcoming projects?

I am now living in Murano Island, exploring the Venetian Lagoon and its delicate equilibrium. The Venetian Lagoon is a hybrid organism where the boundaries between land and sea are ever changing and the balance between the elements are extremely delicate. Since its foundation, through continuous scientific efforts and engineering interventions, Venice has managed to survive, by adapting to a delicate and mutable environment. The city has demonstrated ahead of time the need to overcome the discrepancies between human and environmental history. The lagoon is a paradigmatic example of ecosystem alteration in the Anthropocene; a repository of centuries of human induced modifications, a unique and comprehensive long-term study of the effects of human intervention over the environment; a possible solution for the uncertain future.

Happy Valley by Pierfrancesco Celada was co-presented by Singapore International Photography Festival and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay at Esplanade Tunnel from 4 Oct 2024 to 5 Jan 2025.