In Autumn 2010, when Hungarian new media artist Tamás Waliczky first arrived in Hong Kong, his historian wife Anna Szepesi took him to Tai O. What caught his eyes were not the scenic sights of the old fishing village, but the modest two-storey family houses on Tai Ping Street. The lower level of these houses, often functioning as a shop or a business, opens widely to the street. Passing by, every one can see what’s inside, as if viewing many little theatres side by side, be it the activities of the people living in, or the seemingly chaotic and cluttered interior, which the artist soon began to appreciate the intricate order beneath. All this is very much different from the European culture that he is accustomed to, and this excites him.
In 2011, Waliczky as a freshly appointed Professor at the School of Creative Media of City University of Hong Kong received a University grant, with which he launched his research on the Tai Ping Street houses. Determined to build a visual representation of the living spaces inside those houses in as much detail as possible, he also took great care in minimising the disturbances caused to the homeowners, who are mostly elderly people and are already generous enough to allow him and his team in to photograph their personal belongings. He thus abandoned the industry standard 3D laser scanner, and instead used usual cameras for the photographic documentation. He also intentionally opted for inexpensive, easily accessible technology, such as open source softwares, in the 3D modelling. After a painstaking post-production process, the objects in the photographs finally took on a spatial expansion, and the outcome, the installation Homes, offers a precise and comprehensive view of living spaces of these unique houses, as well as realistically reflecting the characters of individuals living in.
In Autumn 2015, the second phase of Waliczky’s project will soon come to a close, and an advanced version of the Homes installation will be presented at Lumenvisum. This exhibition emphasises on demonstrating novel uses of customary photography and its role in the realisation of the virtual living spaces, while bringing out the rich possibilities in combining “cheap” photography with easily accessible technology. More importantly, the exhibition embodies the undertaking of a documentarist, as well as the dedication of an artist, in presenting the everyday lifestyles of the people of our time.
Project Investigator: Tamás Waliczky
Idea and concept: Anna Szepesi and Tamás Waliczky
Artistic Supervisor: Anna Szepesi
Co-Investigator: Jane Prophet
Photography: Tamás Waliczky, Tong Yee Tak, Anna Szepesi
3D models and texture map: Tong Yee Tak, Li Danwudan, Man Chun Yip, Chen Xinyi, Zhang Zinan
The project was supported by:
General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong
Drs Richard Charles & Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation
City University of Hong Kong
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Tamás Waliczky, born in 1959, is a new media artist from Hungary. He started out by creating animations at the age of nine. Then he worked as painter, illustrator and photographer. He began working with computers in 1983. He was artist-in-residence at the ZKM Institute for Visual Media in 1992 and at the IAMAS in Gifu, Japan in 1998-99. He has taken up various professorships at Fachhochschule Mainz, HBK Saar and currently School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong since September 2010.
Waliczky’s works have won numerous international awards, including the Golden Nica of Prix Ars Electronica, Linz, shown at major festivals and venues worldwide, including IMAGINA and SIGGRAPH, Biennale de Lyon, ICC Gallery Tokyo, Multimediale Karlsruhe, Photo 98, the Biennial of Seville and Goethe-Institut Hong Kong, and are in various public collections including the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), the Oppenheimer Collection (Bonn), the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (Melbourne) and the Ludwig Museum (Budapest).
‘FROM PHOTOS TO 3D MODELS’ WORKSHOP
Tamás Waliczky believes that every body can achieve 3D visualisation of any objects in their own aesthetics and with the technology suited to them. In this workshop, this new media master artist will demonstrate how to convert photographs to virtual 3D models using free, handy softwares. Participants will be able to gain a good basic knowledge to start with their own 3D visualization of any objects of their interest. Anyone interested in this technology are welcome. Free of Charge.
Quota: 10-15 people
Registration: 2777 8766 ｜ jack@lumenvisum.org