Interview with Tse Mingchong by Leung Chiwo Warren

In the second part of the interview, Tse discusses how his experiences from two journeys in Europe led him to think through the relationship between time and space in photography, and to make observations on Hong Kong’s history, society, and politics through a pair of fresh eyes (27:00–31:31). Tse stresses that he has always liked to use photography as a tool to document life. He thinks photography’s determinism is based on a snapshot of the photographer’s personal experience in the moment before the shutter opens (31:31–37:35). Tse thinks that living in Hong Kong is not conducive to practising art. Not only does society offer individuals very limited choices, the cramped living spaces also contribute to the dearth of creative people. The general public lacks knowledge or understanding of art, which can be remedied by education, Tse explains (37:35–44:38). He goes on to point out that the Hong Kong art community lacks mutual support, and exchange and criticism on art are still inadequate. Tse frankly admits that he is not optimistic about changes coming in the future (44:38–47:45). In the last part of the interview, Tse remarks that Hong Kong artists created more works that responded to society. He claims that this art phenomenon had to do with the awareness of and the search for a Hong Kong identity around the handover in 1997. Tse also calls himself a photographic reporter who expresses his personal thoughts through photography (47:45–56:10). 

此為梁志和與謝明莊訪問之錄音

在訪問的第二節裡，謝氏講述兩次歐遊的經歷如何引發他思考時間和空間在攝影中的關係，及他對於香港的歷史、社會及政治等方面的觀察 (27:00-31:31)。謝氏又強調一直喜愛以攝影記錄生活，認為攝影的決定性是基於攝影者在拍下一瞬間前的個人經歷 (31:31-37:35)。對於在香港的生活，謝氏覺得社會給予個人的選擇很少，加上生活空間狹窄，創作者在香港淪為異數，大眾缺乏對藝術的認知，認為要從教育上作改進 (37:35-44:38)。他繼而指出香港藝術社群缺乏互相支持的力量，交流和評論均不足，坦言對未來的改變不樂觀 (44:38-47:45)。訪問末段，謝氏觀察到香港藝術家多作了回應社會的作品，認為這現象可能跟在九七前後尋找香港身份的意識有關。謝氏又自稱是一個攝影報導者，以攝影表達個人想法 (47:45-56:10)。