Michael Wolf: plus an audio
interview with the
Architecture of Density
photographer by Jim Casper
Michael Wolf has lived and worked in Hong Kong for
ten years. Stimulated by the region's complex urban dynamics, he makes
dizzying large scale color photographs of its architecture.
One of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world, Hong
Kong has an overall density of nearly 6,700 people per square kilometer.
The majority of its citizens live in flats in high-rise buildings. In
Architecture of Density, Wolf investigates these vibrant city blocks,
finding mesmerizing abstractions in the buildings' facades.
Some of the structures in the series are photographed without reference
to the context of sky or ground, and many buildings are seen in a state
of repair or construction: their walls covered with a grid of scaffolding
or the soft colored curtains that protect the streets below from falling
debris. From a distance, such elements become a part of the photograph's
intricate design.
Upon closer inspection of these large prints, the anonymous public face
of the city is full of rewarding detail — suddenly public space is
private space, and large swatches of color give way to smaller pieces of
people's lives. The trappings of the people are still visible here: their
days inform the detail of these buildings. Bits of laundry and hanging plants
pepper the tiny rectangles of windows — the only irregularities in
this orderly design.
In a generous interview,
Michael Wolf speaks about this work, and its companion photographs, "The
Back Door of Hong Kong."
Architecture of Density is on display at the Robert Koch Gallery in San Francisco through February 26, 2005.
© Copyright 2004 Michael Wolf. Photos courtesy of Robert Koch Gallery.