"So close and yet so far away" - Wing Ka Ho Jimmi
Artist Wing Ka Ho Jimmi
Wing Ka Ho Jimmi (b. 1993) is a photographer, based between Hong Kong and the UK, who has recently graduated with a Master in Photography at the Royal College of Art in London.
In his latest project, “So close and yet so far away”, Jimmi works with the personal as political and explores his self-identity and how it relates to the socio-political situation of Hong Kong. Through classic portraiture and landscape photography, Jimmi examines the aftermath of the Handover agreement between Britain and China in 1997 and how it has impacted Hong Kong and its society.
Through the poetic language of photography and the metaphorical power that this medium allows, “So close and yet so far away” explores migration and borders, collective memory and the struggle of identity and belonging.
The project is divided into two chapters. The first chapter, ("So close and yet"), deals with the remains of Sino-British history and the unique relationship between the two countries. Most precisely, it explores the leftover politics and border. The images that constitute "So close and yet" have a mystical air as if they emanated from a remembered past. Snapshots of the urban landscape intertwine with portraits of Hong Kong citizens and the border. And even though Jimmi focuses on the quiet and peaceful moments of daily life, there is an underlying tension and uneasiness at the core of Hong Kong society that cannot escape the camera.
In chapter two, “So far away”, the enigmatic air of the previous photographs is gone, all the images live in the present. The protagonists of these images are Hong Kong new immigrants in the UK, and Jimmi explores their identities and their struggle to find their way to a new home. Their portraits alternate with images of foreign landscapes, rooms and objects that belong to their past lives in Hong Kong, conveying the strangeness of a new home and the warm familiarity of memory.
Ultimately, "So close and yet so far away" is a gentle reflection on how the history of a place affects and tangles with those of its inhabitants.