Photographer - Mathew Lai
Book launch and delivery by May 3, 2024
In a world where poverty stifled his artistic dreams, one man’s passion for art and creativity refused to fade. From the depths of his humble beginnings, a chance encounter ignited a spark within him. Mathew, an avid photographer, found inspiration in the world of imagery. With a profound appreciation for photography. He captured the world through his unique perspective using his Leica camera, and embarked on a transformative journey that would redefine his artistic expression.
Through photography, Mathew discovered a new medium to capture the essence of his surroundings with his keen eyes. Through the reflections of glass windows and the interplay of light and shadow, he glimpsed another world—a world where reality and illusion cohabitated together in harmony.
Through his lens, Mathew revealed the struggles and triumphs of everyday life, unveiling the stories hidden beneath the surface. Each photograph in his collection became a channel, transporting viewers to a realm where the ordinary became extraordinary.
In this captivating photo book, Hong Kong Monoflex, explore the beauty of every mundane image as we witness the vivid chemistry of emotions that shape our existence. Proceed into a dimension waiting to be discovered.
This is a 23cm (w) x 30cm (h) hard cover book, using high quality Japanese matte paper, 83 pages text with 76 monochrome photos taken by Leica camera. The book is made in Hong Kong. ISBN: 978-988-70368-2-1.
自小對畫畫有興趣，拿過獎但因為家貧無以為繼。長大後因為認識了會攝影的朋友，機緣巧合下報讀了觀塘職訓報讀攝影課程，開始了這個漫長的旅程，中間有幸在IPA 拿過一些獎項、策劃了多次街頭攝影展。這次攝影集的作品都是一些跟玻璃窗或光影反射有關的，我留意到框內另一個世界，這可以說是現實，但也可以被看成虛幻一樣。
在日常生活中我們經常在現實世界中掙扎，面對著不同的生活感受，有快樂的、感動的、也有困難的、憂慮的等等直接了當在我們身上發生；有一天，我在車上的玻璃窗看見的另一個世界，透過反射折射等令它充滿著不確定性、深深吸引着我去想把他們留下來，於是就出現了這一輯照片，或許在現實世界中並不容易，多留一點想像空間給我去喘息也不是壞事。
透過這一本攝影集，在身在平平無奇的日常場景中，會留意到一些不一樣的事情、有不一樣的感受。人生旅程總有一天會完結，如果中間能發現原來有不一致樣的風景，也是不錯的回憶。
I have been interested in painting since childhood and have won prizes, but I could not continue because of my family's poverty. As I grew up, I met some friends who were good at photography, and by chance I enrolled in a photography course at KTVTC and began this long journey, during which I was fortunate enough to win some awards in the IPA and organise several street photography exhibitions in Hong Kong. The works in this collection are all related to glass windows or light reflections, and I have noticed another world within the frame, which can be considered as reality, but also as fantasy.
In our daily lives, we often struggle in the real world, facing different feelings of life, there are happy, touching, difficult, worrying and so on, which happen to us directly; one day I saw another world in the glass window of the car, through the reflection and refraction and so on, which makes it full of uncertainty, deeply attracted me to want to leave it behind, and then this series of photographs appeared, maybe it's not easy to be in the real world, but it's also not easy to be in the real world. Maybe it is not easy in the real world, and it is not bad to leave a little space for my imagination to breathe.
Through this photo book, we may notice something different and feel something different when I am in the ordinary everyday scenes. Life's journey will come to an end one day, and if I can find different scenery in the middle of it, it will be a good memory.