Outside of M+ Gallery in Hong Kong, there is one of the world’s largest media screens. The expansive, light-powered canvas comprises thousands of LEDs. Each night, it showcases a dynamic mix of works from the museum鈥檚 collection. It鈥檚 a powerful example of bringing art to the public, breaking down barriers to exhibitions and placing them on the streets. It offers moments of artistic contemplation, humour, intellectual reflection, play and poetry to thousands of onlookers. M+ collaborates with world-leading international artists throughout the year, commissioning works for the fa莽ade that champion new moving-image practices and deepen the museum鈥檚 connection with a global audience.听
Greg Girard is the latest artist to take on the impressive space. He follows in the footsteps of figures like Ho Tsu Hyen, Pipilotti Rist, Sarah Morris and Zhao Tao, all of whom have displayed work since the fa莽ade was launched in 2022.听贬碍:笔惭,听is a thrilling visual journey through Hong Kong鈥檚 cityscape. The renowned photographer is celebrated for his archival records of life in the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City. The infamous area, known as the 鈥渃ity of darkness,鈥 was a densely populated and largely lawless region of Hong Kong, located within the boundaries of a former Chinese miliary fort. The metropolis was home to 60,000 people, living with little political or legal oversight, and a hotbed of gangs and crime. It was demolished in 1994, and Girard鈥檚 photographs are a cornerstone of the community鈥檚 archive. He began photographing it in 1985, telling听The Face听magazine that: 鈥淚 simply stumbled across it one evening. I came around a corner and there at the end of the block it loomed: this massive building-thing that looked like nothing else I鈥檇 ever seen.鈥 The shots are almost hard to believe. The sheer scale of the structure is enough of a surprise, but every tiny, shining window truly brings into focus the number of people held within its walls. Other images show children clambering on roofs, clinging to television aerials.听
Girard is known for his work documenting the social and physical transformation of Asia throughout the latter half of the 20th听century. In particular, the Canadian photographer is drawn to some of the continent鈥檚 largest cities: Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong. In 1976, he booked a one-way ticket to Bangkok with a stopover in Tokyo, intending to stay only a few days. At the time, tourism to the city was still fairly low and, as Girard explains, 鈥渇or those in the West, Japan appeared much further away and relatively inaccessible.鈥 His images opened up this world for a whole new audience, the neon colours and nocturnal shots revealing a dynamic and technologically thriving culture. It is these pieces, which were not published until 1987, that made Girard such a popular name in photography.
Now, his cityscapes are interwoven into the M+ Fa莽ade, bringing his shots of Hong Kong, taken almost half a century ago, to a 21st听century audience.听Girard says: 鈥淭his commission offers me the unique opportunity to revisit these photographs, transforming fragments of Hong Kong鈥檚 recent past into a cinematic sequence.鈥澨贬碍:笔惭听also听animates analogues shots from the artist鈥檚 personal collection, taken between 1970 and 1990. The images are presented in a new format, their sequence turning them from static moments into a film. They portray the bustling streets of Hong Kong, featuring students, fashionistas and workers going about their daily routines. In other scenes, neon-lit streets, lively nightclubs and celebrity encounters come to life. There is a sense of perpetual motion, from aeroplanes soaring between dense skyscrapers near old Kai Tak Airport, to the constant activity along Victoria Harbour.听
The installation brings Girard鈥檚 work full circle, showcasing his images as part of the skyline that inspired them decades earlier. Here, as passersby witness the fa莽ade light up each evening, they are faced with the city鈥檚 rich and vibrant history and invited to take a moment to reflect on those who came before.听
Greg Girard HK:PM is at M+ Gallery, Hong Kong until 28 September:
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
All images: Greg Girard Still from HK:PM, 2025 Commissioned by M+, 2025. Image courtesy of Greg Girard.
