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South China Morning Post

March 1, 2011, 29.8 x 38.2 cm

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Image on page A10, it shows a tank in Zawiyah, surrounded by anti-regime protestors and its crew who deserted the military to join the opposition on Sunday, February 27, 2011 during the Libyan Civil War. Amid the sea of protestors, we see a few on the tank in green uniform who very likely are the deserters, but the one pointing his finger high up is obscure. He might be a militiaman from the opposition, or a soldier who deserted long before this date, giving a signal to the protestors on something happening on the far left, perhaps combat, surrender or occupation. However, he does not get much attention from the people and has merged into the crowd of celebration.

Rural Urban Framework

booklet by Joshua Bolchover and John Lin, published by the Faculty of Architecture, the University of Hong Kong, 2010, 21 x 15 cm

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Image in p.11, taken in China in a rural area being constructed with highways and residential towers. With all these constructions as background, fronted with grazing land and building materials, the farmer-turned-worker at the lower right corner works quietly to recycle those still usable. He might be a migrant. With the very limited income, he may need to grow his own food every morning before his 12 hour-long work shift.

Hong Kong Street Scene

silver print postcard, circa 1920, 7.9 x 13.9 cm.

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Photographed at a rickshaw park, a street scene of Hong Kong in the 1920’s, possibly in the areas of Central and Sheung Wan where many major piers were built on the waterfront. Just off the signpost of the park, a rather skinny sailor appears prominently in the foreground. With his rattan hat and shorter pants not so typical as uniform of western sailors at the time, he could be a local Chinese sailor working in one of many cross-harbour ferries. Or, he could be Chinese or Southeast Asian hired for western ocean liners or riverboats cruising in the Pearl River Delta. For his boat now anchored in the Victoria Harbour, he can be free from work even at mid-day.

2013 Young in Germany

calendar, published by Federal Foreign Office, Directorate-General for Culture and Communication, 33.7 x 13.5 cm, 2012.

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Image for the week of April 8. Taken in the Columbia University, New York, presumably it is the graduation day in May. Amidst all dressed in the light blue gowns, the man in deep blue at the centre, perhaps white American or European in his early thirties, is walking up with the light blue gown in hand. Having not changed for the ceremony, he is still at ease even though a little late and alone while other graduates are ready. Being a little more mature, he might have been veteran for Baghdad before earning his BA.

1952-1967 Ota Ward

published by Santousya Publishing, Tokyo, 2008, 25 x 21cm.

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An image in p.51. It is outside the Yaguchi-no-Watashi Station in the Ota district of Tokyo in 1955, one summer day after the rain. The woman in the right front firstly captures our attention. She appears to be in her fifties but life was harder back then and people would look much order than their age. Her gazing back guides us to a younger woman at the centre. She would be around 25 and a young mother of the little girl next to her. She might have got married when she was 16 something. Her full length-cotton dress in tiny floral pattern is very good in the hot summer for all domestic work that she needs to take care as a full-time housewife of a working class family. During a shopping trip, she scratches her back in a carefree manner, striking a humble historical moment.

South China Morning Post

June 18, 2012, 29.8 x 38.2 cm.

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Image on page A10. Taken on June 17, 2012 in a voting centre in Paris, five persons here but four are behind the curtain. The little girl on the right might ask her parent how the election works and when she can also vote. The man on the leftis scrutinizing what is on the ballot. He might be still thinking if he should support a new Socialist government. However, entering the booth with his foot high up, he realizes his booth is bigger and different. Around 50, on black leather shoes with jeans on Sunday, he might be a businessman importing low-cost consumables or in small retails, probably in the same style for work. Or, he might go to work after this, as it is still early.

1950’s Queen’s Road Central

postcard, printed circa 1980 in Hong Kong, 9 x 14 cm.QueensRd_postcard

 

Street scene of Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong, photographed at the entrance of Wyndham Street. In the middle stands a woman with a red umbrella as the focus of the photo. With a slim and tall figure well matched with a white blouse and a red dress in fashionable high heels and hair-do, she could be easily thought as a model arranged by the photographer. Otherwise, she might be a well-earning secretary from a big company, a sought-after job for women in the 1950’s. In a sunny and hot summer day, carrying her large document envelope, she might need to run errands in the post office or bank before lunch, however, in steady steps to maintain her refined manner.

Souvenir Book of Asia-Africa-Latin America Table Tennis Invitational Competition

 published by People’s Pictorial, Beijing, 1973, 25 x 36.5 cm.

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Image 3 on p.7. Photographed on August 31, 1973, it is a post-match visit to the Forbidden City, Beijing by the Japanese Delegation led by Hisao Kido. The young man on the left front looking back, in his early 30s, waits for his sightseeing group or speaks to them. He should be the guide as he carries a camera. But dressed in business suit with a briefcase in the earlier 1970s, he may be Japanese too, more likely an attaché from the Embassy of Japan. Receiving visitors from Japan would be part of his job and he must have learnt to enjoy himself as well.