Michael Wolf – Informal Arrangements, Flowers, 82 Kingsland Road London E2, until 9th January 2016
Michael Wolf, Industrial #24
(c) Michael Wolf, Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Wolf arrived in Hong Kong in 1994 and has always been fascinated by the hyper density of the architecture and indeed many of you may know his large-scale photographs from previous exhibitions.
Michael Wolf, From the series My Favourite Thing, 2003-15,
Archival Inkjet Print, 25.4 x 20.3 cm, 10 x 8 in, Edition of 9
(c) Michael Wolf, Courtesy of Flowers
In this show he reveals, alongside the endless building facades, the more intimate world of Hong Kong’s back alleys. Here you find a different world – to some a passageway through from the street, to others a quiet place but also storage areas where residents can safely leave mops, rubber gloves, even pieces of ribbon and string stored to be used another day.
Michael Wolf, Industrial #26,
(c) Michael Wolf, Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
He also has amassed from Hong Kong and mainland China a collection of broken chairs which had been made useful in the alleys though repairs with fabric and string. He calls them ‘Bastard Chairs’ and they eloquently add their presence to this colourful celebration of life.
Michael Wolf, Informal Arrangements, installation view,
(c) Michael Wolf, Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
The artist sums it up saying: “Hong Kong’s back alleys are often unnoticed against their more glamorous counterparts of dazzling architecture. However, they present an authentic slice of Hong Kong’s grass roots culture. In my opinion they should be nominated as a heritage site.”
I rather think that is a valid point.
Michael Wolf, From the series My Favourite Thing, 2003-15,
Archival Inkjet Print, 25.4 x 20.3 cm, 10 x 8 in, Edition of 9
(c) Michael Wolf, Courtesy of Flowers
In January 2016 the book Informal Solutions – Observations in Hong Kong Back Alleys by Michael Wolf, with a text by Marc Feustel, will be published by WE publishers, Hong Kong.
Michael Wolf, From the series My Favourite Thing, 2003-15,
Archival Inkjet Print, 25.4 x 20.3 cm, 10 x 8 in, Edition of 9
(c) Michael Wolf, Courtesy of Flowers
Tim Forrest's E & A 