How do transformations of urban spaces reflect a city during transitional times?

Public space plays a vital role in everyday urban life. Our perceptions of and relationships with these changing urban landscapes are also constantly shifting—even more so after a social event or a collective experience such as the pandemic.

In the third session of M+’s What is Visual Culture? series, we look at urban spaces through the lens of photographer Paul Yeung and cinematographer and director Leung Ming-kai. Join us and uncover narratives of the city on how we use and look at urban spaces.

This talk will be moderated by lecturer and researcher Dr Fiona Y. W. Law. Simultaneous interpretation in English will be available. Click on ‘Get Tickets’ to register for this free event.

Leung Ming-kai earned a Master of Fine Arts in film at Columbia University. He was the cinematographer for several works filmed in Asia, including Mundane History (2009), Murmur of the Hearts (2015) By the Time It Gets Dark (2016), and Old Stone (2016). In recent years, Leung has worked as director of photography in Hong Kong for films such as Suk Suk (2019), Ciao UFO (2019), and Drifting (2021), among others. In 2019, he co-wrote and co-directed Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down, with Kate Reilly. Combining the use of fiction and documentary, their film captures the contemporary atmosphere and scenery in Hong Kong.

Paul Yeung Tak-ming is a freelance photographer, educator, and curator. He graduated with a Master of Arts in Image and Communication (Photography) from Goldsmiths College, London. Yeung began his career as a photojournalist and photo editor. Yeung held his first photography exhibition The Flower Show in 2012 and published his first photobook Yes Madam, Sorry Ah Sir in 2017. His works have been collected by The Hong Kong Heritage Museum.

Dr Fiona Y. W. Law is a lecturer in Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include Hong Kong cinema and cultural studies, visual culture, and animal studies / ecocriticism within the Asian context, with particular focus on death and healing, photographic narratives, animal welfare, ecofeminism, and urban culture.