Presented by Tai Yip Cultural Group, Hourglass & Silhouettes: Lens on a Changing City invites you to step into a Hong Kong that no longer exists—yet remains in memory and in monochrome. Showcasing a curated collection of Francis Wu’s black-and-white photos from the 1940s to the 1960s, the exhibition highlights the city’s transformation from a colonial outpost to a thriving modern metropolis, capturing the subtle beauty of lives amid change. Wu was one of the most prominently exhibited pictorialists of the mid-20th century.

These images are more than historic records; they are moments suspended in time—cadet pilots flying over Victoria City, the harbour meeting the cityscape at Connaught Road Praya, rickshaws and sedan chairs lining bustling streets—still steeped in tradition. Faces gaze from the past look back at us: stoic, hopeful, weary, resilient. Each portrait whispers of a city in transition, where old rhythms give way to new aspirations and the ordinary turns extraordinary through Wu’s lens.

The decades between war and prosperity were years of reinvention. Hong Kong’s streets showcased migration, resilience, and the subtle poetry of everyday life. In Wu’s images, time is not merely passing—it gathers in shadows, stretches across pavements, and lives in gestures that speak of both continuity and change.