High Life

HIGH LIFE 29 “Sweet Sorrow is a turning point for me” Today, Shya has moved his gaze from the stars of the fashion spreads and silver screen to the regular citizens and youth of Hong Kong. “They have something that is real, that even professional actors don’t know how to do,” he says. When asked why he decided to take on this new type of project, Shya says he needed to produce something created entirely himself. “Most of the things I used to shoot were upon invitation. All my ideas were for the other party’s service,” he explains. “But ‘Sweet Sorrow’ is entirely created by us. We even made all the clothes. “After this project, I changed a lot in regards to my shooting method – I stopped setting stories for the subjects I took. The series is a turning point forme.” It was in fact the business of everyday Hong Kong that inspired Shya to try something new. “When I stayed in Lan Kwai Fong, in the morning I would see someone dressed so beautiful walking along the road going home alone, or eating alone in a small restaurant,” he says. “At that moment when the day just started to shine, the hustle and bustle of the night disappeared and it would create a sense of loneliness. I think such a lonely Hong Kong is very romantic, beautiful and sexy.” In collaborationwithworld-renowned stylist Kanako B. Koga and Japanese visual artist Fantasista Utamaro, Shya decided to use another method to show a different Hong Kong. In ‘Sweet Sorrow’, viewers follow the lens to walk into a city of darkness, through hidden temples, dingy rooftops, dilapidated houses and disused toilets – an urban wasteland full of cast-off neon lights. What Shya created is an otherworldly dystopian fairy tale comprising a cast of the spectacularly dressed. WINGSHYA, SWEETSORROW, DIVE [HONGKONG, 2013], COURTESYOF BLUE LOTUSGALLERY