Nudes, nightclubs and nostalgia: Kary Kwok on life behind the lens
The artist on finding his photographic footing in London’s 1980s queer scene, and the evolution of Hong Kong’s LGBTQ community
Kary Kwok Ka-che encourages people to pose nude at least once in their lifetime. “I think everyone should have the experience of being naked in front of a camera,” he says. “It gives you a whole new perspective on yourself. It’s not like looking in the mirror.”
Artist, editor, curator, Kwok wears many creative hats, but is best known for photography. From documenting queer nightlife in London and Hong Kong in the 1980s and 90s to his paradoxically bold yet vulnerable self-portraits, over the years he has challenged established notions of sexuality, gender, race and identity.
Lately, in his Ap Lei Chau studio, he’s been shooting with his friend Sonia Wong Yuk-ying, an interdisciplinary artist, gender studies scholar and queer activist.
“It’s an interesting dialogue between the model and me,” he says.
Kwok, a long-time advocate for queer visibility through art, notes how saturated LGBTQ culture is with images of nude men, and how rarely the female form appears. “I’ve always found the female form beautiful.”
The studio’s most striking feature is its natural light: wide windows run the width of the room, opening onto the sea beyond Ap Lei Chau’s shores. “The afternoon light is just so beautiful and soft,” says Kwok, “especially the way it falls here in my studio.”