Hong Kong is a buzzing, bustling and hardworking city, with moments of grace and stillness that offer glimpses of its complex culture: one of the world’s top and fast-paced financial centre and at the same time home to Feng Shui, calligraphy, tai chi and higher life expectancy.
Authored by Catherine Shaw, photographed by Robyn Lea and published by Assouline, the exquisite coffee table book Hong Kong, Heritage, Art and Dreams is a celebration of the city’s cultural richness, variety and intricacy, featuring original photographs of its quintessential landmarks, streets and inhabitants, along with memories and anecdotes from longstanding residents.
Presented in partnership with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts on the occasion of the opening in 2019 of its waterfront property The Rosewood Hong Kong, the book pays tribute to the city in a personal and private way through the lens and vision of diverse fascinating locals and residents, such as tailor, taxi driver, entrepreneur, architect, gallery owner, artist, chef, calligrapher, museum director…
Illustrated by striking full and double-page pictures, it reflects how the city is “many things to many people”; a city of contrasts and diversity that has been fast transforming into a pre-eminent cultural destination. The book celebrates everything from traditional knife sharpeners and tailors to the traditional foods that make the city a culinary point of reference, from local designers, architects and artists to those internationally recognised.
Among the people revealing their memories and visions of the city in the book, are Rocco Yim, Douglas Young, Joyce Ma, May Chow or Stanley Wong. Hailing from different culture, generation and industry, they all have a very distinctive perception of Hong Kong but share a mutual love for their home town.
For May Chow, Executive Chef and Founder of Little Bao and Happy Paradise restaurants, and Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2017, “what’s special about Hong Kong – it’s the melting pot. You can get the best of Chinese, Japanese and French cuisines. We have very high-end cuisine and great street food”.
The essence of Hong Kong for Douglas Young, Founder of lifestyle store G.O.D, Goods of Desire, is “the collisions between order and chaos; East and West, old and new; anonymity and individuality”. This is what inspired him in developing his authentic Hong Kong aesthetic.
As believed by Rocco Yim, architect responsible of the design of the International Financial Centre, the East Kowloon Cultural Centre and the Hong Kong government headquarters, “it is the lack of resources that forces us to adopt flexible solutions. Done with ingenuity, they become an art form. We stack things up – starting in the post-war years with schools on the rooftops. We also mix things together within a single building. We have shops on the ground, a barbershop on the floor above, and a clinic somewhere on the fifth floor, and if you look further, someone is leaving another few floors up”.
For Joyce Ma, emblematic doyenne of Hong Kong fashion scene, who was the first to introduce major international designers to Hong Kong customers through her eponymous boutique, “there is a lot of creativity in Hong Kong, but it is not on the streets like in Tokyo or Milan: it is our own kind, where everyone has their own take on things.” Now retired, she adds: “For all its glamour and glitz, there is another part of Hong Kong that is very peaceful (…), there are little nooks where you can find peace and pleasure. That is the real Hong Kong”.
As for Stanley Wong, aka Another Mountain Man, one of Hong Kong’s most renowned artists which creative works include filmmaking, advertising, photography, design and art, “perhaps we need to examine our own cultural history and identity from an Asian perspective in a global setting, reflecting our similarities and shared values”.
Not only is this book a recollection of insightful stories and memories and a portfolio of striking photographs, but also this is, with its luxury slipcase and gold foiling cover, a superb and alluring object – Assouline publishers’ signature look and hallmark.
The authors are also a guarantee of remarkable quality. Catherine Shaw is an architect, writer and editor based in Asia for thirty years. She has authored Wallpaper* Tokyo City Guide and is responsible for the Louis Vuitton Hong Kong City Guide. She has also authored a book on architect Andre Fu. She is the Asia Pacific editor at New-York-based Metropolis magazine and contributes extensively to magazines and news media such as Interior Design, Wallpaper*, Design Anthology, Vogue, The Telegraph and the South China Morning Post.
As for the photographer and author Robyn Lea, her photographs have been published in Vogue, The New York Times, Marie-Claire, Architectural Digest, T Magazine and Vogue Living, and displayed in exhibitions all over the world. She wrote and photographed two best-selling books Dinner with Jackson Pollock; Recipes, Art & Nature and Dinner with Georgia O’Keeffe; Recipes, Art & Landscape.
The book is available in bookstores in Hong Kong but unfortunately almost sold out online.
Hong Kong: Heritage, Art and Dreams, by Catherine Shaw and Robyn Lea (Assouline)
Hardcover with Luxury Slipcase
220 pages – 150 photographs
English language
One response to “Book in Focus: Hong Kong, Heritage, Art and Dreams”
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The photographs look stunning. And I love the concept of asking people what Hong Kong means to them.