FAN HO___ PHOTOGRAPHER
The creator’s journey is always a difficult one with its twists and turns, but every creator has its own way of embarking on their unique path. Fan Ho, an internationally renowned photographer who captured Hong Kong in the 50’s and 60’s, devoted his life to evolving his craft. His own artistic journey started as early as 1945 and he was over time inspired by different schools and styles to eventually come to his own unique style.
This journey will be expressed in Fan Ho’s latest exhibition at Blue Lotus Gallery, inviting visitors to explore and pursue the wonders of photography through his lens.
His family reminisce:
“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) was born in Shanghai delving into photography at just 14 years old, taking pictures with a Kodak Brownie camera. Later at the age of 18, his Father bought him a twin lens Rolleiflex camera with which he took all his award-winning photographs.
Fan Ho continued pursuing his passion for photography, in particularly for street photography, when his family moved to Hong Kong in 1949. Dubbed the ‘Cartier-Bresson of the East’ Fan Ho’s works earned him close to 300 local and international photography awards and titles. During 1958-1965, he was named as one of the top 10 photographers of the world, as compiled by the Photography Society of America. His talent was discovered also by the film industry where he started out as an actor before moving into 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), Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Bibliothèque National de France, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Art (USA) to name but a few.
The exhibition, Fan Ho－Photography. My Passion. My Life. 展覽: 何藩－《感情‧感悟‧感覺》opens on 18 November showing at Blue Lotus Gallery, G/F, 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong until 18 December 2022.
The book presents photos by Fan Ho and essays by Fan Ho, Law Kar and Timmy Chen, and is available in English and Chinese.
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Images: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
