MID-CONVERSATION, Patrick Lee is interrupted by a gaggle of eager polytechnic students led into the Art Statements gallery to see his show by their instructor, installation artist Kith Tsang. 'Isn't this great?' says Lee, who jumps up and starts photographing the students as they tour the exhibition. 'It's nice of Kith to bring them here. You should talk to him, too.'
Tsang and Lee are old friends. They were part of a group of seven artists who co-founded Para/Site Art Space in 1996. 'We were frustrated with the lack of spaces to exhibit,' says Lee. 'Galleries had lots of restrictions. So, we found a place in Kennedy Town, and were free to do what we liked. It was the first artist-run gallery in Hong Kong.
'When it first started, it made a lot of noise,' he says. 'I hung a roast pig inside for a month - it was really foul and smelly. Another artist filled the whole floor and turned it into a swimming pool, with a boat hung above it reflecting on the water. Another chiselled Chinese characters directly on the concrete floor. When we took another space in Sheung Wan, we invited other artists to participate.'
Lee is a practising doctor, but photography is his passion. He was initially attracted to the aesthetics of black and white photography. 'It was a medium for self-expression,' he says. 'I needed a medium for self-healing. When I'm confronted with an image I've created, it forces me to be frank and truthful to myself. It reflects my own wounds. It's therapy.'
Like many artists who don't rely on art for their livelihood, Lee shoots only to please himself, although he enjoys the appreciation of others, particularly young people with fresh eyes. Mostly self-taught, he took his first and only photography course 20 years ago. He's learned everything since by reading, going to as many exhibitions as possible, and constant practice.
Although he began learning with a manual camera, he switched to automatic because it suited his character. 'I take intuitive snapshots,' says Lee. 'I'm interested in daily life. I like to approach subjects directly, with simple equipment. An automatic camera is more flexible.'
