Z-Axis is a solo exhibition by Hong Kong-based visual artist Chan Hong Yui Clement, featuring a selection of the artist’s works from his photo series of the same title. Z-Axis, an ongoing project started in 2014, is a photographic study of Hong Kong’s multi-level urban design from a mathematical perspective.
Z-Axis is a solo exhibition by Hong Kong-based visual artist Chan Hong Yui Clement, featuring a selection of the artist’s works from his photo series of the same title. Z-Axis, an ongoing project started in 2014, is a photographic study of Hong Kong’s multi-level urban design from a mathematical perspective. A complete project statement is as follows:
Hong Kong is situated on a hilly and mountainous terrain. Because of the lack of natural flat land, Hong Kong simply does not have the prerequisite to be designed into a grid system—a town planning method that is found in many other world cities such as New York. According to the Hong Kong Planning Department, about 47% of the land in Hong Kong lies above 100 mPD*. Almost half of Hong Kong therefore has to be built on uplands, resulting in what is commonly known as a multi-level urban design.
Z-Axis aims at documenting the type of multi-level urban design that is shaped by the hilly and mountainous terrain in Hong Kong. Z-Axis, in mathematical terms, refers to the depth of an object in a three-dimensional coordinate system. Looking into the Hong Kong urban landscape along the Z-Axis, one can gain more understanding of (i) how the topographical factor impacts Hong Kong people’s habitation and (ii) to what extent the land has been altered in an attempt to adapt to the natural environment.
*mPD refers to metres above Principal Datum, i.e. 1.23m below the mean sea level in Hong Kong
Chan Hong Yui Clement (b. 1992) is a Hong Kong-based visual artist working primarily with images and text. Through various means of image-making, Chan’s intention is to reveal both the limitations and potential that are inherent in photographic language, resulting in image-based works that tend to be medium-specific and process-driven.
Chan’s works have been selected to exhibit as part of the International Photo Festival Leiden, Leiden (2018); Duesseldorf Photo, Düsseldorf (2018); Photoville, New York (2017); Liverpool International Photography Festival, Liverpool (2017); and Krakow Photomonth Festival, Krakow (2016). Graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2015, Chan currently lives and works in Hong Kong.
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