Wide-angle: The sloped transition to an ethereal corridor coincides in a junction with the concrete in-between space for tobacco addicts.
Alleyway is……
I simply perceived this territorial chasm in modern day Hong Kong as an ugly brainchild of stringent building ordinances. I saw alleyway as a voiceless existence in this dynamic global city, a spillover space that conceives nothing but shadow and fumes. Alleyway, historically being a place for local trade and interaction, has fallen into an abyss of neglect. It is severed from the rest of the community, only physically being adjacent.
Alleyway is dead.
But this particular L-shaped alleyway inadvertently altered my stereotypes. In the photograph “Perspective”, no longer alleyway is solely a space for chain-smokers and rodents. The L-shaped alleyway I stumbled upon comprises a sloped transition towards an ethereal arcadia protected from the rest of the city, allowing children like little Cheung and A Fan to play without interference.
Alleyway is alive again.
Perspective 1: Around the corner is a place of serendipity, a playground for children like Cheung and Fan.
Perspective 2: An array of concrete frames that only allow children to enter, hide, and seek.
Worm’s eye: Alleyway is also a junction for voiceless concrete façade.
Bird’s eye: This curvilinear alleyway segment shelters lifeless Styrofoam boxes unattractive to hungry predators, like birds.
Skewed angle: A little experiment to see the alleyway from a skewed perspective.
First person’s view: The alleyway entrance from the first-person perspective.
Zoom: Water pipes are coated with barbed wire to prevent trespassers from invading the private space.
Focus: The exposed ventilation system is the focus. It connects two different realms like this L-shaped alleyway.
Crop: The view of the private residence is cropped by the metal door, which separates the private life from the public alleyway.
Contrast: Red alarm vs white pipe; concrete wall vs metal fence
Frame: A gateway to privacy.
By Dong Yuqi Kiki (UID: 3035447879)
You have captured interesting moments, especially the first ones in black and white showing different materials. I would have stayed with this technique and continue to capture in black and white all other materials to be found in back alleys. This could be a wonderful catalog of aged raw materials.