MONDAY ARTPOST 2024-0304

MONDAY 

ARTPOST 

2024-0304 

ISSN1918-6991 

MONDAYARTPOST.COM 

Columns by Artists and Writers 

Bob Black / bq / Cem Turgay / Fiona Smyth / 

Gary Michael Dault / Holly Lee / Kai Chan / 

Kamelia Pezeshki / Lee Ka-sing / Malgorzata 

Wolak Dault / Sarah Teitel / Shelley Savor / 

Tamara Chatterjee / Tomio Nitto / Yam Lau 

+ K&G Greenwood: Gardens by the Bay (Holly Lee) / 

OP Edition: Yau Leung, Hideo Suzuki, Hisun Wong, So Hing 

Keung, Lee Ka-sing, Lester Lee, Dickson Yewn, Bobby 

Sham, Xing Danwen, Paul Sabol / DD ARCHIVE 0208-2019 / 

李家昇連載 Fragments for a Photograph [ 誰來寫這個小說 ] 

MONDAY ARTPOST published on Mondays. Columns by Artists and Writers. All Right Reserved. Published since 2002. 

Edit and Design: DOUBLE DOUBLE studio. Publisher: Ocean and Pounds. ISSN 1918-6991. mail@oceanpounds.com 

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ARTPOST. 

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ARTPOST contributors 

Cem Turgay lives and works as a photographer in 

Turkey. 

Fiona Smyth is a painter, illustrator, cartoonist and 

instructor in OCAD University's Illustration Program. 

For more than three decades, Smyth has made a name 

for herself in the local Toronto comic scene as well as 

internationally. 

http://fiona-smyth.blogspot.com 

Gary Michael Dault lives in Canada and is noted for 

his art critics and writings. He paints and writes poetry 

extensively. In 2022, OCEAN POUNDS published two 

of his art notebooks in facsimile editions. 

Holly Lee lives in Toronto, where she continues to 

produce visual and literal work. 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Lee 

Kai Chan immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in 

the sixties. He’s a notable multi-disciplinary artist who 

has exhibited widely in Canada and abroad. 

www.kaichan.art 

Kamelia Pezeshki is a photographer living in Toronto. 

She continues to use film and alternative processes to 

make photographs. 

www.kamelia-pezeshki.com 

Ken Lee is a poet and an architectural designer based 

in Toronto. He has been composing poetry in Chinese, 

and is only recently starting to experiment with writing 

English poetry under the pen name, “bq”. 

Lee Ka-sing, founder of OCEAN POUNDS, lives in 

Toronto. He writes with images, recent work mostly 

photographs in sequence, some of them were presented 

in the format of a book. 

www.leekasing.com 

Robert Black, born in California, is an award-winning 

poet and photographer currently based in Toronto. 

His work often deals with themes related to language, 

transformation, and disappearance. 

Sarah Teitel is a multidisciplinary artist living in 

Toronto. She writes poems, songs and prose; draws, 

sings and plays instruments. 

sarahteitel1.bandcamp.com/album/give-and-take 

Shelley Savor lives in Toronto. She paints and draws 

with passion, focusing her theme on city life and urban 

living experiences. 

Tamara Chatterjee is a Toronto photographer who 

travels extensively to many parts of the world. 

Tomio Nitto is a noted illustrator lives in Toronto. The 

sketchbook is the camera, he said. 

Yam Lau, born in British Hong Kong, is an artist and 

writer based in Toronto; he is currently an Associate 

Professor at York University. Lau’s creative work 

explores new expressions and qualities of space, 

time and the image. He is represented by Christie 

Contemporary.

TERRAIN, seven. (Photographs by Lee Ka-sing, haiku by Gary Michael Dault 

in response). Read this daily collaborative column at oceanpounds.com 

Mood Indigo 

time slides by on a windy night 

like sheets of mica 

it screams along like intuition

TERRAIN available at BLURB 

TERRAIN, one 

https://www.blurb.ca/b/11625068-terrain-one 

TERRAIN, two 

https://www.blurb.ca/b/11640008-terrain-two 

TERRAIN, three 

https://www.blurb.ca/b/11682715-terrain-three 

TERRAIN, four 

https://www.blurb.ca/b/11740766-terrain-four 

TERRAIN, five 

https://www.blurb.ca/b/11898660-terrain-five 

TERRAIN, six 

https://www.blurb.ca/b/11899037-terrain-six

The OP Print Program (OP Editions) was organized by Ka-sing 

and Holly in the nineties as a sideline to the renowned photography 

publication DISLOCATION. 

The goal was to compile a body of work through original photographs 

in a portable format (8x10 inches) that reflects the photography scene 

of Hong Kong during that period. The project began in 1995 and 

concluded in 1999, two years after they relocated to Canada. Both 

Ka-sing and Holly were in charge of curating the project, selecting 

works from monographs or exhibitions that include some of the most 

representative pieces from artists, encompassing the contemporary, 

old generation masters, and foreign photographers based in Hong 

Kong during that time. 

Approximately 200 individual works were issued. In the print 

program, 20 limited editions were produced and signed by the 

artists. Black and white works are fiber-based gelatin silver prints, 

while colour works consist of Cibachrome photographs or 

chromogenic prints. 

Some works in the program have already sold out. Ka-sing and Holly 

are currently working on organizing these into five large volumes of 

original photographs as Institution Collections for public galleries. 

They are also in the process of creating a book that features the 

complete body of work. 

10 works from 

OP Editions in the 

second season of 

1996. 

We consider it a cross-section of Hong Kong’s photography history 

in the nineties, which is an important period when Hong Kong 

photography was heading towards the contemporary era.

Yau Leung 

King Kong, Hong Kong City Hall. 1973 

8x10 inch, gelatin silver print (printed in the 90s) 

Number 1/20 

Signed and numbered on verso 

OP Edition 

Yau Leung

Hideo Suzuki 

Equivocal perspective representation Dedicated to Roland Barthes, 1995 


Number 1/20 

Signed and numbered on verso 

OP Edition 

Hideo Suzuki

Hisun Wong 

Pair of Callalily, 1994 

8x10 inch, image transfer on watercolour paper (printed in the 90s) 

Number 1/20 

Signed, and numbered on front 

OP Edition 

Hisun Wong

So Hing Keung 

Untitled, 1995 

8x10 inch, gelatin silver print (printed in the 90s)` 

Number 1/20 

Signed, titled and numbered on verso 

OP Edition 

So Hing Keung

Lee Ka-sing 

Globe, 1987 

8x10 inch, chromogenic print (printed in the 90s) 

Number 1/20 


OP Edition 

Lee Ka-sing

Lester Lee 

Odour, 1990 


Number 1/20 

Signed, and numbered on verso 

OP Edition 

Lester Lee

Dickson Yewn 

Untitled, 1990 


Number 1/20 


OP Edition 

Dickson Yewn

Bobby Sham 

Bob-pin series 2.3: Dreamingin Beijing. Stand Straight! Cheee...se, 1995 


Number 1/20 


OP Edition 

Bobby Sham

Xing Danwen 

Venice, 1994 


Number 1/20 


OP Edition 

Xing Danwen

Paul Sabol 

Dry Pond Lily $02, 1994 


Number 1/20 


OP Edition 

Paul Sabol

K&G Greenwood 

Holly Lee 

K&G Greenwood is a project of intricate complexities. It revolves around 

the realms of experience, cherished memories, enduring friendships, and a 

profound love for gardens, artists, writers, and books. 

I began my journey by calling a stag a horse. Using pictures I took from 

K&G’s garden, I paired each one with my writings written for different 

gardens that have inspired and intrigued me. 

The project takes the form of postcards, which I mail to K and G at intervals. 

On each postcard, I include a few sentences from the longer text. I extend an 

invitation to K or G to respond by taking a photograph each time they receive 

my postcard. 

The Two conservatories: Cloud Forest and Flower Dome (photographed by author during EDIT). 

Left: Conservatories and Supertrees. Right: Cloud Forest. Wilkinson Eyre Architects led the 

design for the cooled conservatories, while the overall scheme was masterplanned, and 

designed by Grant Associates. 

Gardens by the Bay (Grant Associates) 

In the late Summer of 2017, I worked as a volunteer in EDIT. I wore a black 

T-shirt with the words “The Future is Awesome” printed on the back in 

bright fluorescent green. 

It felt awesome to be a part of the future. 

That realization lasted for only ten early fall days. EDIT, short for Expo 

For Design Innovation & Technology, was produced by Design Exchange 

in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

The pioneering inaugural festival took place in the east of Toronto at the 

abandoned Unilever Soap Factory, situated on Don Roadway. This industrial 

heritage building spanned 150,000 square feet, offering an unmatched 

immersive experience that envisioned a world transformed by unparalleled 

design, innovation, and technology solutions. I volunteered for three days, 

during which I was entranced by the marvelous, futuristic Gardens by the 

Bay in Singapore.

I have only been to Singapore once, back in 1996. I was invited to give 

a lecture on Asian Photography: A Photo Retrospective of the 1960s to 

1990s, which covered Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong. The 

talk was meant to complement the exhibition “First Sight” by Singaporean 

photographers organized by CVW Fine Arts. Catherine Vaughan 

Williams, the gallerist and organizer, was the spouse of Rupert Williams, 

a photography collector who became a fried. He had acquired many OP 

Edition prints when the program was first launched by us in Hong Kong 

in 1994. The lecture took place in The Ballroom of Raffles Hotel, which is 

approximately 5 km from the Gardens by the Bay. It only takes 6 minutes by 

taxi, costing between $7 to $10. 

But Gardens by the Bay was not there yet in 1996. Its construction only 

commenced eleven years later, in 2007. By 2017, it had already gained 

widespread recognition and earned numerous awards and accolades. It 

astounds the world by seamlessly integrating natural and technological 

innovations with architectural creativity, symbolizing the small nation’s 

visionary efforts to transition from a “Garden City” to a “City in a Garden.” 

As an immensely popular tourist destination, it is cherished by both local 

residents and visitors from abroad. By December 2023, Gardens by the Bay 

celebrated its 100-millionth visitor alongside the launch of Christmas at the 

Gardens – the largest Christmas celebration in Singapore. 

Discovering the myriad of new “city building projects” happening worldwide 

today is simultaneously thrilling and daunting. Many of these projects 

boast designs that promise a perfect fusion of futuristic architecture, 

green infrastructure, interconnected ecosystems, fluid mobility, and 

innovation hubs, all while enhancing residents’ quality of life with minimal 

environmental impact. The sheer number of fascinating, futuristic city 

building projects proposed, in planning, or already under construction 

worldwide is truly mind-boggling. 

Top: Tourist map, Bay South ©Gardens By the Bay

I find myself quite riveted by “The Line,” a 170-kilometre linear megacity 

clad with mirrored facades in Neom in the Saudi desert, and Telosa, a 

proposed utopian planned futuristic city in the United States built in the 

desert between Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Next are two floating cities: 

the Maldives modular Floating City located in the turquoise lagoon in the 

Maldives, and Oceanix Busan in Korea. The latter, being UN-backed, is 

a prototype of the world’s first sustainable floating city. Additionally, there 

is BiodiverCity, set to be constructed on three artificial islands built off 

the shore of Penang Island, Malaysia. China is also racing to catch up by 

building more future cities, with Chengdu Future City being one of them. 

In Canada, “The Orbit” project is happening in the Ontario town of Innisfil, 

which is just an hour and 20 minutes drive from Toronto. 

I remember telling my daughter about the giant, futuristic Supertrees I saw 

on the monitor during EDIT, saying that we must make Singapore our next 

travel destination. However, Gardens by the Bay is a much larger and more 

sophisticated project. It encompasses 250 acres of reclaimed land along 

the Marina Bay waterfront in the heart of Singapore. It consists of three 

distinctive waterfront gardens – Bay South, Bay East, and Bay Central. Both 

Bay East and Bay Central are open to the public, offering tranquil paths and 

promenades with stunning views of the Marina Bay skyline and the city. The 

most spectacular part of Gardens by the Bay is Bay South. 

Top: Aerial view of Bay South. ©Wilkinson Eyre Architects 

There are several distinctive and awe-inspiring features in Bay South, 

most notably the Supertree Grove – a cluster of 12 iconic giant tree 

structures erected 50 meters above ground, providing shade during the 

day and transforming into a sensational light and sound spectacle at dusk. 

One vacationer, in amazement, noted on Instagram: “Am I in Pandora?” 

Additionally, there is another bonus: the Observatory built on the tallest 

Supertree can be accessed through the OCBC Skyway suspended between 

two Supertrees at 22 meters above ground. Visitors enjoy ascending there for 

a panoramic view of the gardens, the waterfront, and the city skyline. On the 

ground, upon close examination of the Supertrees, you’ll discover they are 

vertical gardens clad in epiphytes, mainly bromeliads, orchids, ferns, hoyas, 

and woody vines.

Further to the northeast waterfront, two armadillo-shaped, climate-controlled 

conservatories have been constructed as the architectural centrepiece of 

Bay South Garden. Known as the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome, the two 

greenhouses have been designed and built with carbon-neutral status with 

the help of low-energy and renewable systems. Each conservatory has its 

own distinct climate – the Flower Dome has a cool-dry zone which fosters 

plants native to a range of unique habitats, from the Mediterranean region 

to South African savannahs and arid deserts. Engineered to be a cool-moist 

biome, the Cloud Forest is home to a giant tropical waterfall and a lush 

mountain clad with plants from around the world. It will be a fascinating 

journey to discover through a stroll along its unique aerial walkways, getting 

a closer look at some of the world’s most exotic plant species. 

As a matter of fact, numerous articles have been written and pictures taken 

about the unique, out-of-this-world gardens in Gardens By the Bay. Reading 

the flood of information only intensifies my curiosity, creating greater 

urgency to experience them in person. 

Besides its spellbinding spectacles, Gardens By the Bay is also home 

to hidden gems, tranquil gardens, and unique spaces. There are four 

heritage gardens: Indian, Chinese, Malay, and Colonial, all of which reflect 

Singapore’s diverse ethnic groups and their cultures, portrayed through 

a fascinating array of plants. In the Sun Pavilion, an outdoor themed 

garden, you can lose yourself amidst the amazing desert-like landscapes, 

discovering over 1,000 desert plants comprising some 100 different species 

and varieties. What a phenomenal encounter and discovery! I am happy for 

Singaporeans, as it delights me greatly to know that, rather than meeting 

friends at shopping malls, more local residents are choosing to meet their 

friends, families, and acquaintances in the Gardens By the Bay. 

Top: Supertree Grove ©headout.com 

The idea of living in a ‘City in a Garden’ is elating. However, I find it 

equally blissful to reside in an area characterized by narrow streets, small 

houses with front yards, and an abundance of young, mature, or centenarian 

trees. The reality is that our city is currently experiencing a surge in new 

constructions, predominantly condominiums and office towers, with few

Holly Lee: K&G Greenwood original postcard - Gardens By the Bay (Grant Associates) 

144mm x 100mm, 2024 

plans to incorporate additional green spaces. Roads are constantly dug up to 

accommodate new and ongoing building projects, as well as the construction 

of new subway lines and stations. Traffic congestion poses a significant 

challenge for the foreseeable future, making walking and cycling less 

enjoyable. 

That being said, there is a positive development in the Port Lands area along 

the waterfront of East Toronto. The Port Lands Flood Protection Project aims 

to revitalize 356 hectares of underutilized industrial land. This ambitious 

project not only seeks to protect 240 hectares of land in the southeastern 

downtown area from flooding but also aims to transform the landscape into 

the new Villiers Island — an interconnected island community featuring 

ample parks and open green spaces for recreation. Additionally, the 

realignment of the Don River mouth will create a healthier and more natural 

environment for fish, birds, and other wildlife. 

Port Lands revitalization map ©waterfrontoronto.ca

When I volunteered for EDIT in September 2017, I was unaware of the 

changes taking place along the Don Roadway, where the Don River flows 

below. By December of that year, construction had already commenced in 

the Port Lands, with an expected completion date in 2024. Fast forward 

to January 2024, and the construction work is nearing completion, with 

three Port Lands bridges installed, creating interesting vistas to Toronto’s 

Downtown waterfront. 

These three hybrid shell-arch bridges, constructed from steel and adorned 

with dove white on top and vibrant hues of red, yellow, and orange 

underneath, may not be as futuristic and sophisticated as Singapore’s 

Gardens By the Bay, but they symbolize a part of Toronto’s future — a city 

with climate-positive neighborhoods, green spaces, and parks that cater 

to the needs of its communities. This vision also blends in residential 

and commercial spaces, community services, schools, public art, heritage 

conservation, and low-carbon transportation. 

For me, this vision of the future, devoid of futuristic extravagance, is truly 

awesome, satisfying and deeply gratified. 

Left: Photograph by Glenn Beech at home, Greenwood (2024)

Poem a Week 

Gary Michael Dault 

The Lion Hatchery (2013), from my book-in-progress, 

Creature Comforts: Poems About Animals. 

THE LION HATCHERY 

they fabricate lions here 

starting them 

as spoonfuls of mercury 

heated in silver crucibles 

with melted gold 

for their tawny coats, 

sticks of amber 

for eyes, 

ivory spikes for teeth. 

with forged bronze claws 

the lions form quickly! 

the finishing touch, 

its horizon roar, 

derives from 

percolating ecstasies 

of thunder 

kept in strong chrome jars

Greenwood 

Kai Chan 

Drawing 

35 x 35 cm, acrylic paint on rice paper

( 林海 ) Fragments for 

a photograph 

Lee Ka-sing 李家昇 

[ 林海 ] 序目 

A FICTIONAL WORK 

1.( 方桌 ) 

LH.leekasing.com/2024/01/0116.html 

2.( 病 ) 


3.( 名字 ) 


4.( 玻璃水族缸 ) 


5.( 林的方吊燈 ) 


6.( 貓 ) 


7.( 方室記憶 ) 


8.( 詩記事 ) 


9.(H 房子 ) 


10.( 誰來寫這個小說 ) 


10.( 誰來寫這個小說 ) 

如果說照片中的影像可以呼喚紙本走出來的幽靈 , 這些混雜斑駁的人 

物事物 , 他們大可以再來重組香港的故事。這個時候 , 城市已經沉溺 

在茫茫的夜色 , 還有幾柱街燈支撑著並沒有完全地黑去的天際。林的 

方室白描已大致寫到尾聲 ,「舉目四壁繞環影像 , 框架反映著對牆女 

皇的眼神 , 盛物枱几如山巒起伏伴著流水音箱一闕歌劇女高音盛唱。 

每個盒子都可以打開一叢故事。這回應當誰來寫個小說 ? 新的舊的走 

進我們星期五的電影裡。(2014)」林這樣地想 , 如果有個寫小說 

的人坐在這方後室 , 從這裡開始去寫個小說就好了。環顧四周 , 大的 

小的 , 一盒一盒的照片 , 一個一個的十年。「還欠點甚麼 ? 改天我從 

三樓拿一盆草本植物下來 , 細細葉子的那種。」林從來就是那麼從容 

不迫 , 在性格上他與海有點不同。他想 , 這麼要好的一個年代 , 縮影 

在美好的一個方室裡。這麼要好的一個格局 , 可惜林從來不是一個寫

小說的人。甚至 , 他幾乎很少閱讀小說。他閱讀小說和他看電影的狀 

況都是一樣 , 都是心不由己。他也常常想念著要去開始 , 即使不是一 

個複雜的製作 , 開始拍攝短小的錄像。然而 , 他從來沒有開步寫下第 

一章。林的父親退休後 , 他保留了父親兩台 Bolex 十六米厘攝影機。 

林想 , 甚麼的一天他開始拍攝他的十六米厘電影。一方面是對父親 

的一點致意 , 另一方面 , 流動影像也挺適合林的思考方式。他有自己 

一套結構論 , 也深懂在框架中泳游。電影媒體已經日益變得越來越 

複雜 , 也是越來越簡單 , 甚至 , 舉手投足也成為一些人片段。斷斷續 

續 , 方室的擺設已轉換過好幾回 , 牆上的女皇亦已打道回港 , 成為美 

術館的收藏。只是寫小說的人遲遲還沒有現身。林與海有不少文字創 

作的朋友 , 但深懂這方室前身後屬的人幾乎是沒有。也許 , 每人手中 

都有一兩片鱗爪 , 誰也不把握得一個較為具體的全像。一天 , 林與海 

聊天說笑 , 我們就來合寫這個小說吧。B 的母親來多倫多探 B, 林海 

約了他們一起在 MOCA 附近的 Drake 晚飯。B 熱哀於一切關於文字 , 談 

起這個即將要開始動筆的新小說 , 大家都興奮得興高采烈 , 好像文字 

就娓娓 , 瞬間從枱上的碟子中跑上來。 

An archive of this series in text format is available at: https://LH.leekasing.com

Caffeine Reveries 

Shelley Savor 

Heading Towards Spring

CHEEZ 

Fiona Smyth

(Right) Fiona Smyth’s work at the POWER exhibition

Sketchbook 

Tomio Nitto

Gary Michael Dault 

From the Photographs, 

2010-2024 

Number 20: Bird from Bulgaria

Leaving Taichung 

Station 

Bob Black 

Author’s Note: 

Abacus of Ordinary Things is a poem I first worked on nearly two decades ago. This 

beginning is now part of that poem that I have been at work on through most of this new year. 

I have been unable to let it go. It has changed as I have changed. 

An earlier, and much different version than the one you will read now, ,was selected as 

a finalist for the annual CBC Poetry Award. Though I cannot recall the exact year of its 

nomination ( 2007 or 2008), I have returned to it often, mostly picking it apart. I can not be 

certain as to its exact submission. It did not win the award, that I recall. It was too ungainly 

then certainly, to be awarded anything. 

Later, I incorporated the original poem in an essay that David Alan Harvey published in 

his game-changing photography book Burn 01 in 2010, a compendium of photographers 

for his Burn Magazine. The wonderful book was filled with brilliant photographers, many 

of whom nearly 15 years later are now well known, respected and awrd-winningartists. 

I was profoundly humbled by David’s decision to include my writing. Both my writing 

and photography always tried to ask the same questions. I am forever grateful for David’s 

generosity and vision and I admire what he has done as an important photographer, mentor 

and publisher. 

I have worked on this poem for the last decade and it has been transformed significantly. Here 

are parts I - III. 

I have chosen to publish this new version with Monday Art Post because Ka-sing and Holly 

Lee have always stood by me and my work for nearly two decades. They too have always 

believed in the work of artists and writers, many of whom are often overlooked by the govering 

bodies of the art and writing world. For me, and all their artists over the last 40 years, they 

have shown the same love, commitment and loyalty as David has. I count myself blessed by 

their friendship. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to publish finally this work with them in its final form. 

Monday Art Post will be published the poem in its entirety over the next four weeks. 

I belive it is till pretty ungainly. However, it is time it let it go. 

Alas, we are who we are. 

What really ever changes?

abacus of ordinary things 

“So you’re scared and you’re thinking 

That maybe we ain’t that young anymore 

Show a little faith”--Springsteen 

i 

a dog’s dark nails click on the pavement of a Sunday morning, the sky blanketed in fog, silence filled 

with more than human voice as winter hastens toward spring, the windows and trees unlock 

brashly we make it home 

if we listen, only 

the chalk moon wearied of its blue ghost sister, unhangs itself down from the wall of black and 

quarrelling stars 

shatters itself in milky shards of reflected light and night dew 

off the hook fireflies drop across the firmament, stardust and cottonseed, breath upon the netting 

a soon-to-be summer window 

in a child’s room the distant country and dreamed of becoming Earth, dreamcatchers 

the night wind, breath wriggles in the wind, the milky way 

the light bulb chrysalis and quasar, the world which became you 

listen 

ii 

in a dark palm a child carries dragon seeds of the dead from the aging trees now clipped for a 

cemetery’s manicure 

the bellowed bone of a traveler’s walk, desert time and elapsed taps, the world hides under the 

covers, but 

a couple will make it home tonight 

remember 

iii 

a screen door clangs, the cowlicks in your hair, the pigeon scratch shaped by cooing shadows, twist of 

fate counter clockwise 

alchemy of recall, words stubborn, thoughts obdurate as your kisses in the morning, all the boys you 

turned away* 

we are torn 

remember you too but tonight we shall turn 

toward home in the clicking singing together, for the lonely

The Photograph 

Selected by 

Kamelia Pezeshki 

Found in the garden by Kamelia Pezeshki

ProTesT 

Cem Turgay

Black Flowers: Drawings 

by Malgorzata Wolak Dault

Travelling Palm 

Snapshots 

Tamara Chatterjee 

Canada (February, 2024) – I went back for 

a second whirlwind tour of Haring’s (often 

explicit) 80’s pop art exhibition. Perhaps based 

on the location of my childhood domicile 

and the eclectic entourage that visited, I 

am familiar with a particular era of Haring’s 

iconography. I found myself lost both times 

watching old videos of the artist in action... 

literally painting himself into a corner. For me 

the retrospective connects to a particularly 

difficult time; a lingering epidemic with an 

overwhelming sense of prejudice based on fear 

of the unknown.

DOUBLE DOUBLE webzine archive 2019-2021 

DD ARCHIVE 

DOUBLE DOUBLE was initially released as a weekly online zine, 

spanning from January 4, 2019, to December 31, 2021, with a 

total of 158 issues. Subsequently, it underwent a transformation 

into book-on-demand and online flipbook formats. 

DOUBLE DOUBLE was initially released as a weekly publication, 

spanning from January 4, 2019, to December 31, 2021, with a 

total of 158 issues. Following this, it underwent a transformation 

into book-on-demand and ebook formats, transitioning into a 

monthly release structure. This monthly publication continued 

from January 2022 until the end of 2023. As of 2024, the 

frequency of publication shifted to a quarterly basis. Despite 

these changes, the content consistently maintained its focus on 

the archival material from Ka-sing and Holly, new works, and 

collaborative pieces. 

Published by Ka-sing and Holly, DOUBLE DOUBLE is a pilot and 

ongoing project focused on archiving their creative work and 

art-related activities from the past five decades. It also serves as 

a showcase platform for their current works, including writings 

and photography. 

We are currently working on transcribing the HTML web files 

into the PDF flipbook format, which is more stable for archival 

purposes. Starting from this year, M will feature this archive 

edition every week. 

These 158 issues of the web zine also serve as raw material, 

including pictures and writings, contributing to the books and 

publication projects that Ka-sing and Holly are currently working 

on. 

0208-2019 

(edition February 8, 2019) 

Seven Little Stories About Photography, from 

Z FICTION series (Lee Ka-sing) / Sushi Grass in 

Paradise (Holly Lee) / PAPER TALK: Woolmark 

Project (Holly Lee) / VINTAGE: Four Photograms 

(Holly Lee) / 50 Gladstone Avenue, photographs 

(Lee Ka-sing) / H+K COLLECTION: Cui Xiuwen

CURRENT WORK 1 

Lee Ka-sing - Seven Little Stories About 

Photography - selected photographs from 

“Z FICTION” series 

Update 

A DOUBLE DOUBLE special issue on Z FICTION was publish in October, 2022. 

This edition covers most of the work from this series and in both English and 

Chinese versions. 

https://current.doubledouble.org/2022/10/2022-10.html

(2010)

(2010)

(2010)

(2010)

(2010)

(2010)

(2013)


Sushi Grass in Paradise (A story) 

written by Holly Lee 

with photograph by Lee Ka-sing 

(2) The Third Floor Library 

Mrs. Bento has a key to a special room on the third floor. It 

is a large room, lined with books and personal archives and 

memorabilia. Though it is an approximately 800-square-foot 

room, it is tiny by library standards. Regardless, the Bentos 

call it the third-floor library. Violet, the young lady from whom 

Mr. and Mrs. Bento bought this building two years ago, added 

a condition in the contract that the ‘third-floor library’ must be 

kept in its original state until further notice of change. At the 

same time, Mrs. Bento also has to agree to keep it in good order. 

In the first half-year when they moved in, the Bento family was 

too busy renovating the three-storey house and converting the 

entire second floor to run a bed and breakfast business. All that 

work has taken up a great chunk of time, and Mrs. Bento rarely 

stayed long in the library except for a quick cleanup. Now the 

building is in much better shape and running on routine, she 

can do some housekeeping for the library at least once or twice 

a week. Though the room is almost an ‘open secret’ to her, she 

has become increasingly curious about what personal history 

it is withholding. And why the seller of the house insisted on 

maintaining it in pristine condition. 

One fine Tuesday, as she was dusting off the shelves in the 

library, she spotted several diaries. Pulling one out randomly, 

she leafed through it, stopped at the page with a blue adhesive 

page marker, hesitated for a moment, but could not resist 

reading what was written on it.

“Impossible memories. I was 21 in 1974, fervently following 

Joni’s footsteps. I understood a little, but later on in life, early 

memories collapsed into one blank canvas. A large part was 

eclipsed and went into hibernation. No wonder it feels so 

familiar — her songs at that time were also part of my life. The 

special feature on Joni Mitchell in the Students’ Weekly did 

help to bring back some memories. 

Yes indeed, Joni is not necessarily fair to everything. Sometimes 

she gets confused, passing on wrong judgment and mixing 

present and past with shifted impressions. But who isn’t? I am 

pretty sure I have such a tendency. 

Looking back at what I wrote in that special feature, though my 

feelings were genuine, it sounded overly mature and acted like 

I knew everything. Now, to look back on what I’d written then 

really feels like Joni’s confession. She once criticized herself 

for having composed “Both Sides Now” at an innocent age and 

not getting the real taste of her words. In response to her All- 

Star Tribute in 2000, she returned to the stage to sing “Both 

Sides Now.” She sang with a deeply reflective voice, and by that 

moment, I knew she had got it. Some people in the orchestra 

understood and cried. Should I, should I not then, also pay a 

little respect to my younger self and learn to forgive my own 

naïveté?” 

Intrigued and lost for a moment, Mrs. Bento closed the diary 

and gently caressed it. A tender feeling ran all over her. A 

black diary made of faux leather, embossed with four digits: two 

zero one zero.

PAPER TALK 

Written by Holly Lee 

In 1998, the Woolmark Company in Hong Kong planned its 

yearly promotion by inviting five local photographers to work on 

a photographic project. The photographers were Almond Chu, 

Basil Pao, Holly Lee, Lee Ka-sing and Ringo Tang. It required a 

collaborative work, pairing each photographer with a noted Hong 

Kong fashion designer. I had chosen to work with Walter Ma and 

produced two images using old photographs: one based on Kasing 

when he was four, the other was an old portrait of his mother. 

At the back of the photograph showing Ka-sing as a young boy, I 

translated the poem written by him in the seventies. It is a poem 

about his father. 

I wrote the other four lines two days ago, re-imagining his mother. 

Wrap myself in wool comfort 

Trap the grass-green years 

Strips of light come seeping through 

Light up my chandelier 

(Holly Lee, 2019) 

Woolmark in Perspective, photoworks (1998) by Holly Lee

1998 年出版的「十人詩選」( 李國威 , 

葉輝 , 阿藍 , 馬若 , 李家昇 , 黃楚喬 , 禾 

迪 , 吳煦斌 , 關夢南 , 梁秉鈞 ), 我提供 

的詩不多 , 其中有一首只得八行的 , 題 

目是《介紹》。這原是一首中長度的詩 

的一個片段。發刊在是個選本 , 我只選用 

了八行 , 並在詩末附註了「原本遺失 , 

( 残本 ) 見錄李家昇黃楚喬工作室明信 

片 ,1981」。遺失 , 說穿了不外是個藉 

口 , 歸算是個 1998 年的終極修訂本罷。 

提到的殘本所屬地 , 也即是見圖這幀明信 

片了。當時正要印製工作室新名片 , 大度 

印刷機的版面還留下偌大的空間 , 便設計 

了一組明信片一同印刷。明信片以家庭舊 

照片為基礎 , 是張明信片 , 照片中是父 

親在五十年代 , 手持一部簡約老式電影 

機。至於後來他擁有多部 Bolex (Regular 

8 及 16mm), 那還是六十年代打後之 

事。楚喬提到拍攝羊毛局 Woolmark in 

Perspective, 在明信片背後的譯詩 , 便是 

出自這個源頭。( 李家昇 ) 

An artifact: “Ka-sing’s father with a movie camera, circa 50s.” 

Postcard published in 1981

VINTAGE 

Four Photograms by Holly Lee 

8”x10” fibre-based gelatin silver photograph 

(work year 1996) 

edition 4/5

edition 4/5

edition 5/5

edition 5/5


Lee Ka-sing - selected photographs 

from the series “50 Gladstone Avenue 

吉石大道 50 號 , a macro and micro 

documentary in present tense” 

January 31, 2019 (she)

January 31, 2019 (Mao)

January 31, 2019 (he)

H+K COLLECTION 

Cui Xiuwen 崔岫聞 (1970–2018) 

Sanjie , 2003 

digitally manipulated photograph 

17.75”x5.5”, digital chromogenic print, titled and dated by the artist

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MONDAY ARTPOST 2024-0304

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