Hong Kong's iconic skyline is being illuminated each night with a stunning tribute to the city's own history. The M+ Museum has unveiled HK:PM, an extraordinary new moving image commission created by renowned photographer Greg Girard that transforms the museum's massive LED facade overlooking Victoria Harbour into a captivating visual journey through Hong Kong's dramatic transformation from the 1970s through the 1990s.
The breathtaking display brings to life Girard's extensive personal archive of analog photographs, weaving together a rich tapestry of street scenes from Central district, vibrant neon-lit avenues, intimate moments of daily life, and rare images from the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City. Together, these carefully curated images capture both the intimate human stories and the electric energy that defined Hong Kong during this pivotal period in its history.
Presented as a continuous loop that runs like a silent film, the sequence seamlessly shifts between diverse imagery showcasing students and street workers going about their daily routines, the buzzing nightlife of clubs and celebrities, aircraft soaring near the former Kai Tak Airport, and the constant hum of activity along Victoria Harbour's bustling waterfront. Through this cinematic presentation, the fragmented memories of the metropolis are given renewed motion and deeper meaning through the Canadian photographer's distinctive artistic lens.
Greg Girard has long been recognized internationally for his exceptional ability to document cities undergoing rapid transformation. In HK:PM, his carefully preserved images return to their place of origin, now animated at a monumental scale on the south-facing LED facade of the M+ Museum. Through the dynamic interplay between movement and stillness, these photographs evolve into a powerful visual narrative that explores the collective identity of a city in constant flux.
Reflecting on this remarkable project, Girard shared his thoughts about the journey: "When I first took the bulk of these images as a young photographer in the 1970s, I never imagined them resonating with an audience, let alone shown to an entire city. Creating HK:PM has been a journey of rediscovery, transforming fragments of Hong Kong's recent past into a cinematic sequence. This act of returning, of images taken in Hong Kong now projected back onto its skyline, gives the work an added resonance, and the incidental becomes iconic."
The work carries special significance as Girard's photographic practice consistently explores the intersection of personal memory and urban transformation, examining the evolution of various metropolitan cities across Asia. From his documentation of the Kowloon Walled City to his acclaimed "Phantom Shanghai" series, his extensive archives document architectural disappearance and urban change with remarkable emotional clarity and historical importance.
Curated by Silke Schmickl, Head of Moving Image at M+, HK:PM builds upon the museum's successful 2024 program "Hong Kong Made Me," which was an earlier collaboration with Greg Girard that transformed his still photographs into a dynamic live cinema event scored by the experimental rock duo Gong Gong Gong. In this new chapter of the collaboration, the images are provided with a luminous stage where they can speak for themselves without additional musical accompaniment.
The M+ Museum, spanning over 65,000 square meters, stands as one of the most significant institutions for contemporary visual culture in Asia. Its LED facade, recognized as one of the largest media screens in the world, has established itself as a key platform for engaging the public through innovative digital commissions and artistic presentations. Strategically positioned overlooking Victoria Harbour, the facade functions as both a civic media space and an artistic landmark, successfully transforming moving image art into spectacular urban experiences that can be viewed by millions of residents and visitors.
The HK:PM installation represents a unique form of urban memory reclamation, using the power of visual storytelling to connect Hong Kong's residents with their city's recent past. As the images loop continuously along Victoria Harbour's waterfront, they create a bridge between the Hong Kong of decades past and the modern metropolis of today, offering viewers a chance to witness and reflect on the remarkable transformation of one of Asia's most dynamic cities.
