Kane Hulse’s photos reveal an unusual side of Hong Kong

“Serenity Despite Everything”, Kane Hulse’s latest photographic project, attempts to capture Hong Kong’s cultural identity in the particular historical period it is going through, marked by the pandemic and ongoing protests.

The photographer – who has been collecting the photographic material for the past two years – offers a new version of the special administrative region of China, showing its architecture and urban landscape through pastel tones and light accents. In the project, colours, buildings and architectural forms emerge and portray, on analogue film, the phase of political change and search for identity of the former British colony.

With a population of 7,541 at the time of the arrival of the British in 1841, Hong Kong is now one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with more than 7 million people living there. 
Commonly known for its skyscrapers and skyline, in Hulse’s series the region is depicted as calm and quiet: a reflection on public spaces in a densely populated area and, as the title of the project suggests, a search for tranquillity in the midst of daily hustle and bustle.

The photographs depict buildings, the stairs of a cultural centre, empty streets, nature in relation to architecture: everyday views that take on a new meaning, emphasising patterns and tones of pink and blue.