Amid the frenzied bustle that’s metropolis life, it may be tough—and even harmful—to cease and observe what occurs above road stage. For French photographer Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze, although, seeking to the higher flooring of residential buildings and industrial towers in Hong Kong has revealed an astonishing ecosystem.
In his new ebook, Echoing Above, Jacquet-Lagrèze paperwork the timber, birds, and males who occupy the town’s sky-high dimension. “Hong Kong’s distinctive density has made the town develop vertically, and I’ve been impressed by the completely different facets that this density brings, from an architectural perspective and likewise how it has formed the connection between males and nature on this metropolis,” he tells Colossal.
With the South China Sea wrapping three sides and an enormous territory dedicated to public parks, the area has been largely resistant to the horizontal sprawl that characterizes many city areas. As a substitute, locals have constructed up and up, their residences hovering excessive above the bottom.
As talked about in PetaPixel, Jacquet-Lagrèze usually scouts places on walks round Hong Kong, the place he’s lived for practically a decade. Kowloon—as soon as house to the legendary walled enclave—is his favourite place to shoot as the colourful structure, laundry hanging from home windows, and indicators of damage bear traces of the individuals who have left their mark on the town. He’s particularly drawn to employees who would possibly dangle off a facade or drill holes amid bamboo scaffolding, partially as a result of they require persistence and focus to identify.
Jacquet-Lagrèze’s pictures juxtapose balconies and window air-conditioning models with pure life, together with the opportunistic Chinese language Banyan that sprouts from many roofs. Birds usually eat its small figs and drop the seeds throughout the town, permitting the hardy timber to sprout amid even inhospitable concrete. “They’ll thrive and attain very giant sizes till it turns into harmful for the constructing and needs to be taken down,” he says, noting that it appears there’s at all times one being rooted out.
Regardless of its ubiquity, this cycle of progress and transplanting occurs thus far overhead that, from road view, it may possibly simply go unnoticed. “I discover it stunning to see how the presence of timber, males, and birds are taking turns above our heads, like an echo in a concrete canyon,” the photographer provides. His pictures additionally seize the interaction of sunshine of shadow as complete sides of buildings are blanketed in darkness, reminding us of how little daylight reaches the bottom flooring.
Echoing Above and different books can be found on Jacquet-Lagrèze’s web site, and a few of this photograph sequence will likely be on view this month at Blue Lotus Gallery in Hong Kong. Discover rather more on Instagram.
