Photographer Gareth Brown grew up in a beautiful rural, yet, industrial, part of South Wales, UK, and had little exposure to art. “At the age of 12, the school art teacher saw my work and decided I had no artistic potential and I was reassigned to metalwork class, presumably”, Brown pauses, with a sardonic laugh, “to prepare me for a life in the nearby steelworks.”
But the universe had other things in store for Brown. Spurred on by an interest of what lay beyond, the young man studied and made his way to London, where he earned a degree in Chemistry. Part of the course introduced him to photographic processes, which, in turn, opened his eyes to photography. He was “captivated” and, though, today, he likes to spend as much time as he can in Wales, there would be no going back to the Bunsen burners.
“After university, I became a junior assistant for photographers and filmmakers, working on shoots for magazines such as ID and the Face, and filming music videos —and that’s where my training kicked in,” he shares.
A successful commercial photographer, who has become increasingly so through his company Blow Up Studios, Brown has produced campaigns for some of the region’s biggest brands.
He has lived in Hong Kong, a place he’s proud to call home, for 25 years, but shares that coming here was by chance. “My sister was working on the new [at that time] airport, and my parents planned a family reunion. I had no idea what Hong Kong looked like before I arrived, and, not surprisingly, it blew me away, so much so that I decided to relocate just three months later”, he says, recalling the then 1990’s British colony.
Sharing how his Bodies in Motion, Bodies at Rest series began, Brown says, “I was entranced by the natural beauty of Hong Kong and was surprised at how few people, westerners or local, seemed to know much about it beyond the beaches and the usual touristy hotspots. So I thought I’d start to document my travels.”
Brown emphasizes that the series, has been a necessary counterbalance to his other work, whereby he produces imagery within predetermined brand guidelines.
While he hastens to say that it’s not that he doesn’t like the commercial process, “I’m proud of some of the campaigns I’ve produced – especially the more conceptual ones, he says, “The problem with shooting campaigns to a specific brief is you know pretty much how it’s going to end up looking before you’ve even shot it. Most of the content has already been agreed with the client, and so, increasingly, the shoot is about execution. A little voice in my head craves a return to a more instinctive improv style of shooting, where the controls and restrictions are reduced and commerce takes a back seat.”
According to Brown, the first images for Bodies in Motion, Bodies at Rest were taken in 2007. He calls the project a dance exploration of Hong Kong, with dancers from across the genres helping him to bring context to the SAR. “I’ve always loved dance. Visually, it’s the most exciting of the performance arts, so it seemed natural to combine my love of dance with my love for Hong Kong.”
“The location, be it Hong Kong Island, Kowloon or the New Territories, is always the starting point, the canvas if you like, while the dancers apply the brushstrokes,” he says, adding that the highlight of the project has been collaborating with dancers; some, principals of professional companies, others amateurs or students, however all, with a unifying love of dance.
“For me, dance is for everyone, and I hope the project will appeal to dance auteurs as well as laymen and ordinary dance aficionados. And collaboration doesn’t just involve the dancers, it also includes my crew and colleagues.”
“Most of the content is photographic stills, although in the last few years I’ve begun to experiment with video and other forms of moving image,” he says.
“The inspiration for my artwork is the multifarious communities in Hong Kong and their imprint. I’m fascinated by the culture, history and beauty of the territory, and the indomitable spirit of the people. I’m also passionate about dance, and its ability to express emotion through movement.”
For such a small piece of land, Brown says there’s been a lot of change and reinvention over the past few hundred years, and that there’s many more stories the HKSAR has to tell.
“Life has been and continues to be quite hectic and noisy. In my art, I try to find some time and space to listen. We should all strive to do a bit more listening in life.”
“For a long time, I’ve viewed the project as something akin to a sanity project,” says photographer “My day-to-day life has revolved around the production of commercial imagery and the pressures that brings, so when I’ve had time, I’ve tried to shoot some art mostly for myself and those who work with me, to remind us why we love photography.” Really, it’s a release, a therapeutic exhalation, something to keep us sane when dealing with the stresses of working life.
According to Brown, it would be remiss not to recognise those whose support and collaboration has been incredibly enabling to the project, “too many assistants over the years to mention them all, but certainly my colleague Liz Mok who has worked on every shoot from when she was part of Blow Up Studios to the present, as a freelance stylist. Her sense of art and style has been a constant. Plus, Alan Tam whose lighting and location problem solving have also been an enormous help.”
After a very long hiatus of not showing the work, Brown has, in the past two years, started to exhibit again at group shows, particularly in collaboration with Grey Walls Gallery.
“I think meeting fellow artists has been a rewarding experience, one which has encouraged me to share my art with a broader audience,” he enthuses.
“I admire many. The very existence of the following has helped me traverse this mortal coil: Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch, Sergei Polunin, Natalia Ospinova, The Nicholas Brothers, Busby Berkeley, Cyd Charisse, Lois Greenfield, Paolo Roversi, Solve Sundsbo, David Lynch, Wong Kar Wai, Busby, Django Reinhardt, Avro Part and Joe Strummer.”
2025
Group show, Grey Walls Gallery, Hong Kong.
2024
Solo Show, Tao Fong Shan, Hong Kong.
2018
Solo Show, Edge Gallery, Hong Kong.
2009
Solo Show, ArtisTree, Hong Kong.
“I did a solo show at ArtisTree very early on in the project and owe much to the wonderful Lindsey McAlister, who was instrumental in making this happen. Her HKYAF [Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation] was hosting an urban dance festival in conjunction with Swire. Lindsey had seen my early works and asked me to exhibit as part of the festival. The exhibition ran from December 1st to the 12th, 2009.
It was a really interesting experience: on the one hand, it was amazing to see my early artworks printed human size and exhibited in the massive, cavernous space that the old ArtisTree occupied. The prints and the dancers were so big that one could almost dance with them! However, I was also caught up in a whirlwind of Press and PR activities as Swire sought to promote the show.
I was interviewed on RTHK, (positively) reviewed on TV’s The Works and had a commercial on Taxi TV, plus many newspaper and magazine interviews. There was a lot going on…
Afterwards, I retreated to concentrate on the creative side, which I’ve always enjoyed far more.”
“I started showing a few new works at HKIPP [Hong Kong Institute o Professional Photographers] annual group shows, and they were well received, so I thought I’d like to see my works in print again, but wasn’t really sure how or where to exhibit. Then, I became aware of Sacha Yasumoto and her urbexing exploits and was pleased to see that she was organising pop-up group exhibitions in abandoned buildings through her Grey Walls Gallery initiative.
As some of my imagery is shot in similar locations, it seemed a fitting environment in which to exhibit. I’ve participated in the last three rounds of Grey Walls Gallery.
I can’t disclose the locations as they are ‘Top Secret’, which is a key element of the experience. However, I can say that the shows are great fun and the engagement and camaraderie with other artists has given me a desire to start exhibiting again.”
Gareth Brown is a veteran photographer from Wales who specializes in portrait and lifestyle photography. He works as a commercial photographer by day, for clients including Pure and Regent/IHG through Blow Up Studios, his long-established company. Brown arrived in Hong Kong almost 30 years ago in 1996 and has raised a family here. He says the highlight of his career has been prevailing and prospering in an ever-changing industry.
Blow Up Studios
10H Tung Kin Industrial Building, 202 Tsat Tsz Mui Road, Quarry Bay.
Gareth Brown will be exhibiting 30 pieces from his Bodies in Motion, Bodies at Rest series at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in October 2025.
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