YU YAT-YIU has spent his career as a songwriter surrounded by Hong Kong's creative types and - as friends tend to do - taking lots of photographs.
Yu is the first to admit that he's only an amateur photographer, but there was something about his snaps that caught the eyes of those in his circle. 'Over the past few years, more and more friends who have seen my photographs have been encouraging me to do something with them,' he says. 'This encouragement from my peers made me think far more seriously about it.'
The result is an exhibition, The Good, the Bad & the Ugly in the Eyes of Yu Yat-yiu, that runs until December 5 at the Agnes b. store in the IFC Mall. It's essentially a series of picture books, each containing a sequence of photographs relating to one member of the People Mountain People Sea (PMPS) collective.
PMPS is a 10-strong group of local independent artists involved in all manner of creative endeavours, including operating its own music label. Formed in 1999 by singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming (one half of local 1980s hit duo Tat Ming Pair), the group is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Wong is undoubtedly the highest-profile member of PMPS, which also signed teen pop sensations At 17, as well as electronic duo Pixel Toy.
'It's home to a group of people who are good friends and have a similar outlook on life in general,' Yu says. 'It's like an extended family - we have all known each other for a very long time.'
Yu is a full-time composer, providing music for films, videos, stage performances and Canto-pop singers. Apart from working in Hong Kong, he has made a name for himself in Taipei, Tokyo, Brussels and London.