Photographer Almond Chu crowdfunds book on Hong Kong protests

Photographer Almond Chu Tak-wah wants to publish a book of images that reflect a deep cynicism about mass gatherings. Ironically, he is trying to summon a crowd, online, to help finance the expensive project.

Chu said he had never come across another Hong Kong artist who had used this method of raising funds before, but he thought he might as well give it a go since he had no other option for getting the book printed.

“Photography books cost a lot to print but Hong Kong is not a good place to sell them. People think they can get anything online and there’s no appreciation of the editing, the print quality and placement of images that go into these books,” he said.

Given the attention that Hong Kong received abroad because of last year’s "umbrella movement" protest, Chu is eager to consolidate his decade-long "Parade" series about local protests and get his message out. “I want people to take an interest in why Hong Kong is the scene of so many protests since the 1997 handover. I want them to look beyond the headlines,” he said.

The images each features a crowd of protesters made up of multiple clones of the same person, eyes hidden behind sunglasses and expression unreadable. They are seen against familiar scenes in Hong Kong and mainland China that refer to real protests which have taken place, such as the anti-Article 23 protest in 2003 and the battle to stop the demolition of Queen’s Pier in 2006. In one, copies of Chu himself are seen holding up yellow umbrellas in Tamar Park, Admiralty, outside the Hong Kong government headquarters. That did not indicate any sympathy with the protesters, he said.