{"id":11433,"date":"2014-11-02T12:19:02","date_gmt":"2014-11-02T12:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.foto8.com\/live\/?p=11433"},"modified":"2023-05-15T16:45:15","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T16:45:15","slug":"occupyhongkong-aksel-coruh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foto8.com\/live\/occupyhongkong-aksel-coruh\/","title":{"rendered":"#OccupyHongKong by Aksel Coruh"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"12-L1001578-3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

#OccupyHongKong documents the Occupy Central demonstrations during the October National Holiday of 2014. Shot at the protest sites of Mong Kok in Kowloon and Admiralty on Hong Kong island, the series depicts a variety of events including clashes between civilians and students, dense public rallies, and night-time vigils. It attempts to record the diversity of groups involved: the ardent convictions of young demonstrators, heated reactions of local bystanders, and the tentative impartiality of policemen and women. Their multiplicity of sentiments is testament to the complexity of Hong Kong\u2019s political status and range of social issues being contended.<\/p>\n

As a former British colony, Hong Kong returned to law under China in 1997 within the \u2018One Country, Two Systems\u2019 policy. A constitution known as the Hong Kong Basic Law is currently in effect whereby the territory maintains an independent judiciary, and residents are permitted broader civil freedoms than in mainland China. A decision by the central Chinese legislature in August to install limits on the nominations for the city\u2019s 2017 leadership election led to wide-spread protests spearheaded by students but drawing support from a broad range of citizens.<\/p>\n

Shot on assignment for Matter<\/a>, (Some True Information is Impossible to Censor<\/em><\/a>) the dispatch developed through an intense series of encounters. Working from a tenth-floor apartment located directly above the stretch of Nathan Road at the Mong Kok occupation, the series marked my first immersion in breaking news photojournalism. The continuously unfolding events provoked me to engage with scenes in a more immediate way than the considered vantage point of my long-term projects. Often reported in simplified terms as a clash between the pro-democratic fervour of students and the firm refusal of local authorities to negotiate, my experiences from the street revealed a wider – and often paradoxical – range of sentiments.<\/p>\n

Pro-democratic residents frustrated with the disruption of their neighbourhood, the visible strain of young police officers lacking experience in crowd control, the deep-rooted suspicions of students towards hired pro-Beijing bystanders. Conviction, resentment, camaraderie, solitude, ignorance, humility – as it continues to operate in the space between witnessing and portraying, I find that photography\u2019s capacity to absorb contradictions remains compelling.<\/p>\n

Aksel Coruh
\nhttp:\/\/www.akselcoruh.com<\/a><\/p>\n