Wing Chan is a photographer who grew up in the shadows of the Kowloon Walled City, and many of his formative experiences were embedded in that hardened era. During Chan’s childhood, he worked at his parents’ noodle shop in a rough neighbourhood near Kai Tak Airport where he met photorealistic artist Michael Wong. Between the ages of twelve to seventeen, Chan took painting lessons at Wong’s studio to study and hone his artistic talents. He then left Hong Kong to study at the renowned ArtCentre College of Design in Pasadena, the USA and started his award-winning career in commercial design. His branding firm in New York City has collaborated with clients including Giorgio Armani, American Express Private Bank, and Standard Chartered Private Bank. He also served as an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City before he returned to Hong Kong in 2011 to rediscover his roots and find inspiration in the metropolis’s diverse subject matter.
Chan’s photomontages create a new lens through which one can view their urban landscapes. Such landscapes are often wrought with intricacies too complex to demystify, but through his works, Chan encourages an intimate connection between people and their surroundings. This results in strikingly rhythmic and evocatively introspective works. Combining angularity and fluidity, his art invites the viewers to immerse in the harmony within the apparent chaos of urban living, thus allowing the city’s true fabric to emerge.