“Strong on images, weak on words” – that's hardly the best strategy for a successful book. Bearing such traits, Lost and Found Hong Kong (2009, ThingsAsian Press, printed in Singapore, 288 pages) emerges as more quirky than enlightening or beautiful.
With no author, this book, edited by Janet McKelpin, overflows with uncaptioned images shot in Hong Kong by five photographers – Hank Leung, Albert Wen, Blair Dunton, Elizabeth Briel and Li Sui Pong. For the most part, these aren't professional shutterbugs. They include a lawyer (Leung), traveler (Wen), English teacher (Bunton), artist (Briel) and student (Li).
“Through their eyes, we hope to catch a glimpse of the reasons why they live in Hong Kong and how they feel about their city,” the publisher says. “With them, we will wander streets they walk every day, hang out at their favorite spots, stop and observe things we wouldn't ordinarily notice, and meet people we might not otherwise have encountered. Getting lost in their lives, we hope to discover a different daily rhythm, catch a ride, and feel the mood and speed of the city.”
Does this work? Yes, but only partly. Definitely, there's precious little to read when one of the biggest blocks of words fails to fill a back-cover flap. The photos lack even captions, perhaps an effort to let them “speak for themselves”. At times, they do, but not fluently enough.
By presenting a book devoid of words (obviously a tall order), the editor simplified her own duties, but diminished the pleasures and understanding for readers. Those unfamiliar with Hong Kong won't comprehend fully what they see. On some pages, even readers attuned to the place may share the dilemma.
On the positive side, this book's totally unlike others. Many of the photos have gritty, blurred, discolored and strangely cropped qualities that may appeal while creating a big distinction from glossy coffee-table books or tourist brochures. For some reason, there's a big fascination with advertising signboards, street markets, bamboo scaffolding, wizened senior citizens, passengers on public transit, burning incense, bright flowers and drifting clouds.
Good books often prod their readers past stereotypes and obvious expectations. So it's a big plus that many of the best photos show not Hong Kong's famous skyscrapers and boutiques, but rather its remote villages, quiet shorelines and bicycle-lined piers on outlying islands. This reflects what Briel calls “her Hong Kong”, a place of “sea and salt, wood weathered by gritty sand… a quiet retreat with fellow eccentrics.”
Truly, Hong Kong thrives as a city of contrasts. One revealing photo shows not the urban towers, but a serene beach overshadowed by smokestacks and the industrial complex of a huge power station. On the beach, a solitary man creates new beauty by balancing rocks into unusual shapes.
Bizarrely, the book begins by promising photo credits “on pages 274-285”, yet the pages aren't even numbered. So trying to relocate any photo resembles searching for a friend who vanished into the crowd on a busy Hong Kong sidewalk.
Really good photos, like some in Lost and Found Hong Kong, may be worth 1,000 words. Even so, adequate words in the right places could have better informed readers and greatly improved this book.
It's all show – and not nearly enough tell.
Approval rating: 65 per cent.
For more information: www.lostandfound.hk
(December 14, 2009)
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