2021 marks the fifth anniversary of Fan Ho’s passing and what would have been his 90th birthday. To commemorate and celebrate his lifetime achievements, Blue Lotus Gallery is pleased to present a brand new publication “Photography. My Passion. My Life.”, bundling the best of Fan Ho’s work, to be published by WE Press and released in December 2021.
This photo-book contains a selection of 138 photos by the celebrated photographer, intertwining his internationally renowned works with those that have yet to be released. The book contains an essay “My Quest”, written by Fan Ho himself in the 70’s, explaining his own practice and his stylistic journey as he was influenced by different movements in photography occurring at that time. Through his essay, we learn about his interpretations of aesthetics, poetics, philosophy, and synergy, as seen in his photographs. Fan Ho transitioned from the world of photography to the film industry while maintaining his enthusiasm for art. This transition is examined in an academic essay written by Dr. Timmy Chen, who is currently researching on Fan Ho’s cinema, further elaborated in an essay and personal interpretation by Law Kar, a veteran film researcher and personal friend of Fan Ho. As per the Fan Ho family, “Fan Ho will always have a special place in our hearts, and we feel closer to him through the lasting legacy of his work. We know we will continue to discover something refreshing every time we look at his unforgettable images, be they portrayals of a bygone era or of the endurance of the human spirit.”
Fan Ho (1931-2016)
Born in Shanghai in 1931, Fan Ho delved into photography at the early age of 10 when he started taking pictures with a Kodak Brownie camera his father had left behind. Later at the age of 18, his father bought him a twin lens Rolleiflex camera with which he took all his award-winning photographs. In 1949,Fan Ho’s parents moved to Hong Kong, where the young Fan Ho continued pursuing his passion for photography, in particularly for street photography. Dubbed the “Cartier-Bresson of the East”, Fan Ho’s works earned him close to 300 local and international photography awards and titles. His talent was discovered also by the film industry where he started out as an actor before moving into film directing until his retirement at age 65. During his lifetime, Fan Ho taught photography and film-making at various universities worldwide. His works remain in private and public collections which, most notably, include that of M+ Museum (Hong Kong), Heritage Museum (Hong Kong), Bibliothèque National de France, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Art (USA) and more.
About the Gallery:
Blue Lotus Gallery, established in 2007 by Sarah Greene, is Hong Kong’s only photography gallery with a strong focus on exploring Hong Kong culture and identity. The gallery offers an exquisite selection of books, limited edition and vintage prints on old and new Hong Kong by respected master photographers and emerging contemporary artists. Blue Lotus represents Fan Ho and his estate exclusively worldwide and is the sole agent worldwide of Wing Shya. The gallery has also been instrumental to debuting artist’s careers such as KC Kwan, Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze and Tugo Cheng who the gallery represents exclusively for the area of Hong Kong. The gallery is located in a quaint and quiet historical pocket on 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.
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