Xia Yongkang: Hong Kong New Wave Cinema and Can Do Spirit | HYPEBEAST

For nearly 30 years, the “destiny” between Wing Shya and the film has continued.

In the coming June, Xia Yongkang will serve as the creative director, and together with Mayer Entertainment, we will launch the NFT project “CRYPTYQUES”, through NFT as the medium and the use of the metaverse to reproduce Hong Kong’s classic movie moments, which are divided into “past”, “” Launched in three phases, “Now” and “Future”, to build and preserve everyone’s collective memories and emotional connections.

Xia Yongkang, 58, was born and raised in Hong Kong. He has traversed the fields of photography, film, design and fashion, and has gradually grown into an internationally renowned photographer, director and artist. We took this opportunity to connect with Xia Yongkang and chat about his prolific creative period of more than 20 years, from which we can see his characteristics and attitude towards creation, as well as the changes in his current life and work.

The gift of the times and the common growth of friends

In the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong’s economy took off and the entertainment industry flourished, which brought countless opportunities for the creative industry. Xia Yongkang, Lin Haifeng, Ge Minhui, Michael Lau and other friends just got on the train of this era.

“I think if there were no jobs in that era, our group would be useless, so I often feel that it is very important to have the opportunity. We can only do it if we have the opportunity, and if we have the opportunity, we can try and train yourself. For example, I was going to shoot ten series of photos in a week. Although I failed three times, I still had seven chances to try again. I think these experiences are very important for creative people. Now a group of creative people in mainland China are also In this way, because there are many opportunities, I practice almost every day, with more and more experience, I have become more and more powerful, and I have become able to sing and dance. So I think it is the times that have nurtured us as a group.”

The gift of the times and the common growth of friends

After watching “Fight to the Furious Sea” directed by Xu Anhua, I was attracted by the camera used by the Japanese reporter played by Lin Zixiang in the play, so I saved money to buy a camera and started to try shooting. After graduating from Art and Graphic Design at Emilia University of Art and Design in Canada, Xia Yongkang returned to Hong Kong in 1992 and began to enter the creative industry. He worked in advertising companies, radio stations, and design companies, and started shooting and designing album covers. .

So far, Xia Yongkang has participated in the shooting/design of more than 100 album covers, and the co-stars include Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Faye Wong, Eason Chan, etc. At the end of the glorious era of the Hong Kong record industry, Xia Yongkang and Shya-la founded by him -la Workshop has taken over half of the record jacket design.

In 1995, Xia Yongkang first came into contact with film-level shooting, “If you ask about the first time, it should be the first short film “Sky Novel” directed by Lin Haifeng. I am not a professional photographer, but because we used to be classmates, He gave me a lot of opportunities. The first time I entered the crew, I felt fresh. When shooting “Sky Novel”, the whole format was the same as when shooting a movie. The camera was Du Kefeng, the art was Wen Nianzhong, the screenwriter was Peng Haoxiang, and the assistant director was Yip Weixin. , This team looks amazing now, but at the time we were only newcomers.”

Afterwards, under the recommendation of Ge Minhui, Xia Yongkang first served as a side-shooting photographer for Wong Kar-wai’s commercials, and then from 1996, he followed “Wang Sheng” to shoot movie stills and posters, and went to Argentina to shoot “Breakthrough” and Hong Kong. Filming “In the Mood for Love” and “2046” in Shanghai, etc., experienced the “carving” of Wong Kar-wai and Zhang Shuping, and also forged fate with stars such as Leslie Cheung, Zhang Zhen, and Maggie Cheung.

To this day, Xia Yongkang still calls Wang Jiawei “Wang Sheng”, he said: “I don’t have the right to say anything, because I am a “beautiful boy” (here means a younger brother), and there are many “beautiful boys” above me. teacher”.”

In the process of shooting and selecting stills, Xia Yongkang gradually entered the method of how Wong Kar-wai sees the same thing, “Many photos are inexplicably chosen by Wang Sheng as posters, such as a poster of Faye Wong and Takuya Kimura in “2046” , during the filming, they were actually rehearsing the test position, and I felt a very ‘kiss’ feeling at that moment, so I started filming.” After a film, he has become accustomed to capturing the emotional moment of the subject.

After “Breakthrough”, Xia Yongkang began to become Leslie Cheung’s “regular customer”. He has been helping the superstar to take concert stage photos and tidbits, make record envelopes, posters, shoot magazines, photo albums and even MV tidbits, etc. Leslie Cheung also It gave him a lot of creative space. He said, “For example, when I made the album cover of ‘Red’ for my brother, I would start with a very pure and creative logic. I suggested that there should be no photos, not even names, only red. The box and the word ‘red’ are enough. After it came out, everyone liked it, and after that, he basically listened to me.”

And Xia Yongkang almost as long as Leslie Cheung speaks, he will help. In 2000, Xia Yongkang followed Leslie Cheung “home” and recorded his life during his concert tour in the Mainland, traveling through Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Chongqing and other cities, and finally assembled into a photo album named “Celebration”. .

On September 12, 2013, Xia Yongkang assembled the photos of Leslie Cheung’s collection that had never been exposed to “Miss You Much”, and donated all the proceeds to the charity that Leslie Cheung supported during his lifetime.

At the time of “Breakthrough”, Xia Yongkang was already imagining the feeling of wearing fashion in a movie scene. Until 2001, Wong Kar-wai shot Gong Li for the French “VOGUE”, shot by Xia Yongkang. They planned a group of blockbusters inspired by “A Streetcar Named Desire”, created some movie scenes, and took fashion blockbusters as stills. Since then, Xia Yongkang continued to develop this concept and kept trying in the blockbusters of magazines such as “iD”.

“I met Terry Jones, the founder of iD, by chance on the streets of Paris, and he invited me to shoot for iD in Hong Kong, so I took pictures of iD for about 10 years. The first shoot , I started to pay by myself and hired Shu Qi and Wu Yanzu to shoot on the motorcycle; filmed with Maggie Cheung in Guilin, she bought the plane ticket and flew over from Paris… “iD” does not have this budget, but I want to try Try to present the fashion in the way I want.” Xia Yongkang seized the opportunity and kept burning his enthusiasm in his creation. This freedom of creation also helped him find his own direction.

The enthusiasm of Lin Haifeng and other peers in co-creation, the greed and abnormality of filmmakers such as Wong Kar-wai and Zhang Shuping in their creative desires, and the tolerance and trust given by stars such as Leslie Cheung, intertwined with the times, gave birth to Xia Yongkang.

A sincere attitude towards creation and seize opportunities for growth

Can Do Spirit and Uncompromising Uncompromising Change

Since entering the industry, Xia Yongkang has been prolific for more than 20 years, and work is his biggest “addiction”. He said: “I think work is the best place to show personality. Books, video tapes and cameras may be my comparisons. It’s a place where I can spend money, but I don’t think it’s “addictive” yet. I’m not interested in other things like cars, watches, and stereos. I haven’t bought any special clothes since more than 10 years ago, because I found that It’s work, there’s not much opportunity to wear them, and I’ve enjoyed them from work.”

This photographer, who has no requirements for clothes, as long as they are comfortable, has been very close to fashion for many years. In addition to shooting numerous fashion blockbusters for magazines such as “iD”, he also created a catalog for Nike x Sacai, shot the Shanghai chapter for Louis Vuitton’s “Fashion Eye”, made creative plans for Maison Martin Margiela x Converse, and shot SAINT LAURENT, CLOT, etc. Brand short…

Regardless of personal creation or commercial shooting, Xia Yongkang also insists on his creative attitude of “unconventional” and “uncompromising”: “I am an emotional person, I believe in my intuition, I think this is what I should do at this moment at the shooting site. I will do it if it doesn’t. I won’t say that the stills must be shot like this, and the commercials must have a lot of lights… because I am very afraid of being restricted. I think analysis is “dead”, because analysis is to take some existing, Old things to calculate. I will be more inclined to look at the project itself, how it makes me feel, and what I should do, so every project of mine, even though I have received many clients, I will Try your best to try new methods, if you frame it, it may actually hurt me.”

Xia Yongkang has maintained this creative method of constant change since he first entered the creative industry. He continued, “Can you not be the same? Can you change it?” I often have this mentality. I will first predict that I am wrong, but I will still try it. I like to create in this way. I think I am “playing” and maintain this state of mind. I am still in this state of mind. Probably in the 90s to the 2000s, Our group of people has a strong desire to create. We are very playful, like to create, and do whatever comes to our mind. We don’t care whether we have money or not, and we don’t think about whether it is right or not. We will have the guts to do it. For example, if Lin Haifeng wants to shoot a doll, we will think that an idea is walking around the street in a ‘doll shirt’ and taking pictures, which is really funny.”

In the golden age of Hong Kong, creators often have multiple jobs, and Xia Yongkang is no exception. While engaged in commercial creation, Xia Yongkang returned to the field of art in 2006 and was invited by the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi, Tokyo to hold his first personal photography. In 2010, Xia Yongkang, who has created many fashion short films, directed the film “Love in the City” for the first time as a director; in 2017, he held the exhibition in Shanghai “ACTING OUT” solo exhibition and launch of the first personal photobook of the same name; In 2019, Inoue Tsuguya (founder of the design company BEANS, serving as the art director of Comme des Garcons) was invited to design his own photobook “Chaos”; 2021, summer In order to help friends who have been supporting him to contact the NFT field for the first time, Yongkang joined hands with Taiwanese singer Zhou Yuzhe to launch the NFT audio-visual work “Chaos +” series.

He is not a person who will take the initiative to do what he wants, but he is also a person who rarely turns off a job: “I will always do it when someone finds me, unless I really can’t do it, I will turn it off. , so many times others decide what I will do. I believe in fate, and I also like to serve others, as long as fate comes to an advertisement, a public welfare shoot, an exhibition… I can do anything. Do. For example, this NFT project happened because BEAM+ LAB and Meiya Entertainment came to me. I thought there would be a lot of things to “play”, so I did it.” However, Xia Yongkang has also experienced “Hea do” (whatever you want). , begging him to do it), he smiled and said: “How can there be no “Hea do” in life, there are several times when my assistant who has been with me for more than 20 years will tell me that the picture taken today is so ugly, how do you feel today? It’s bad, the state is very bad. I slowly learned to accept this kind of ‘failure’, to accept its bad life.”

Hong Kong-style “fast and beautiful” mode, learn to adapt and not give up

As his identity as a photographer has become more and more recognized internationally, Xia Yongkang has gradually come into contact with shooting and production methods in different places, which is a small shock to him. He said: “Once, I gave Sarah Jessica Parker is shooting a Coca-Cola commercial. I have finished her portrait. The next thing I want to shoot is her hand. I will habitually use the Hong Kong style method and tell her you go first, and then I will find a double to shoot. That’s fine. But she said she didn’t mind staying, so she just clapped her hands.”

Hong Kong-style “fast and beautiful” mode, learn to adapt and not give up

The creative industry in Hong Kong is fast, and the speed of everyone’s work has been accelerated several times. The Hong Kong-style model of “quick and beautiful” is reflected in almost every Hong Kong creator. Xia Yongkang can’t avoid growing up in it, “I I think “Quick and Beautiful” is actually forced. Because the budget is small and the actors are very busy, the filming will definitely encounter various situations, such as the actor has left, and only one scene can complete a scene, etc. , the director needs to “executive” (Cantonese, meaning adapting to the situation) on the spot in a short period of time, and thinking too much about the creation at this time may not be a good thing.”

Xia Yongkang has also become a director by following Wong Kar-wai in filming for many years. They have all encountered similar situations, and they will try their best not to give up this scene. “If the actor is not there, we may find an extra as a stand-in. We may use his hands, feet and other limbs, or a voice-over to present the scene. In short, we don’t give up the scene. It’s a very normal and common method.”

Creation requires purity and devotion, enjoy the process

Following Wong Kar Wai’s creation, Xia Yongkang would not have any direction or answer. He tried every photo series, trying to get closer to Wong Kar Wai’s desired effect. “Happy Spring” is the first time Xia Yongkang actually took a still photo, but he took a classic poster by mistake, and it also gave birth to a style of stills with a sense of tidbits.

He said: “I didn’t know anything about the stills at the time, I didn’t even have the most basic camera silencer, so many of the photos I took were out of focus, and the actors were not in the state of the film. That photo from the rooftop, I I was forced to walk to the opposite building to shoot with a telephoto lens. At that time, I thought that if I didn’t take the stills of this scene, I would be beaten to death by Wang Sheng, so I didn’t care whether I would use it or not. I knew that I must not give up. After that, I was like this. When I was shooting, as long as my intuition was right, I would shoot first. Usually, the director will give me one or two opportunities for each scene, about five to ten minutes, and other times. I will try to be next to Du Kefeng as much as possible. In addition, when I have a break, I will also let the actors go to shoot a bunch of pictures, which may have nothing to do with the movie, but I will shoot as soon as I have the opportunity. I think it is good for Wang Sheng and other directors. They are all purely creating and filming, and no one has ever thought about whether they will become classics during the process. It is very simple. These works may only become classics after a few years.”

In 2013, Xia Yongkang carried out a simple personal creation. He spent 23 million Hong Kong dollars and hired a creative team from France and Japan. From the scene to the clothing, the team arranged everything, and finally completed more than 30 pieces. Photography. In this shooting, Xia Yongkang learned that the process is more important than the result, and he no longer needs others to prove himself. In 2016, the works of “Sweet Sorrow” were made public because of a charity photography exhibition.

Xia Yongkang also maintains the same pure mentality to create NFTs. “Actually, I have no interest in learning about NFT transactions. What I care more about is that I want to use this medium to try new creations.”

NFT “CRYPTYQUES” Project Trailer

This NFT “CRYPTYQUES” project represents the “past”, “present” and “future” of the life cycle. The first series discusses the “seven emotions” of people, which is the prologue of the “past” stage, including “Desire” (desire), “Fury” (anger), “Fear” (fear), “Joy” (joy), “Bitterness” (bitterness), “Loathe” (disgust) and “Love” (love).

Xia Yongkang hopes that these films that affect him can make people feel emotions and bring back a precious part of Hong Kong films through a new medium: “In ‘Desire’, I selected some new wave films, because I also received The influence of these movies. I think Hong Kong’s new wave movies deserve to be known by today’s young people and what movies are there. For example, I watched “Love to Kill” directed by Tan Jiaming. There is a scene in it, just in front of a house, but I think the composition is very cool. I think the scenes shot by this group of directors in Hong Kong at that time have their own style. For this NFT project, each image I choose will be based on the emotions inside. , is mainly based on a scene and its meaning, Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung are just in this picture, of course stars have the “power” of stars, I hope this can also be revisited by friends who like movies.”

The starting point of this NFT coincides with Xia Yongkang’s constant re-learning in creation. “After people are born and come into this world, they actually have a lot of memories, but if you forget them, you need to find every emotion in your life. I put this way of thinking on the screen. Movies are a good but I think it seems too clear to use only movie clips, so we used a method called Point Cloud to blur the whole picture and turn a photo into a three-dimensional body with different levels to present, Create a sense of paradoxical, amnesiac people looking for memories. There are two or three teams working with me on this right now, and I want to try to create NFTs in this way.”

Changes in life and work in recent years

In 2014, Xia Yongkang had time to pay attention to his life outside work for the first time because of a job opportunity to go to Spain to shoot a bank advertisement. He recalled: “The whole production was very smooth, we started shooting at 7 in the morning, and after lunch After shooting everything, I had a lot of time, and then the local team took me to eat and drink red wine. I realized that it was so “right”, and I felt sick and why I didn’t appreciate it. After this time, I started to slowly lower myself and enjoy life.”

Since then, Xia Yongkang has undergone some changes in his creation, and now he is more like a freelancer. “Now I will find things I am interested in in life to understand, such as going to nature, feeling the forest, spending more time with family and friends, I feel that my creation has become more pure than ever, and I will Go and shoot something I haven’t done before.” In 2016, Xia Yongkang filmed a project titled “After Dark” for the independent magazine “WHAT.”, he no longer only focuses on capturing the moments of people, but also starts to shoot Everything around the theme hopes to make the whole project continue; in 2020, he took a series of photos of plants “Odd Hunter”… In addition, he formed an improv band i_is_one with friends and played music willfully.

Curating “#Photographer” with Kim Lam; licensing the photos to Japanese artist Yoshirotten for re-creation and opening an exhibition in Hong Kong… The whole world is changing, Xia Yongkang has always put himself in the change, and hoped that through his own It can bring some help to the new generation of creative people in Hong Kong. He said: “I like the whole market is changing, it is better to move than to stop. I think the world should change, and now I will be in Hong Kong with some new The creative people of our company will do exhibitions together and communicate with each other. I don’t really understand what they shoot anymore, but I think it’s very normal. Their aesthetic style is completely different from ours. They should go in other directions. .I can’t understand it doesn’t mean their works are bad, I will still choose to support them with my method, I may not be able to see the result, but I think it is a process of nurturing.”

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In 2010, Xia Yongkang created four short films for “Rodarte x Maggie Cheung Collection”, which led to the acquaintance of British photographer Nick Knight and invited him to shoot some video works and put them on SHOWstudio. This is the moment when Xia Yongkang’s dream came true.

In the 30 years since he entered the creative industry, Xia Yongkang has won the “favorite” of the times, but also benefited from his enthusiasm and purity of creation, the pursuit of breaking the rules and the spirit of never compromise and give up. From a still photographer under Wong Kar-wai’s “man”, he gradually moved from Hong Kong to the world, and has grown into a photographer and director who can hardly be single-labeled today. So far, Xia Yongkang’s creations have not been finalized. He is still “playing” constantly, and at the same time, he is cultivating a new generation of creators with his own strength.