Watch “Collateral and the Death of Neon”

In 2020 I wrote the article “Life and Death of Hong Kong Illegal Façades” about the vanishing of Hong Kong iconic neon signs. Maybe because it was my fist academic paper, I put an spacial care on it with the valuable help of Sonjie Kennington PhD, ATT, CELTA. The article was quoted by some very compelling authors, most remarkably by Emily Verla Bovino in Architectural Review, and then i had to shift my focus to other tasks.

However, today I just watched the documentary movie “Collateral and the Death of Neon” by Jacob Floyd, about how Cinema, street lighting and lens technology co-evolved together in Los Angeles. Collateral (2004) pioneered the use of advanced camera lens that allowed to catch the light nuances with depth-of-field sufficient to portray the seedy atmosphere of LA’s entrails. It was very nice to see my article quoted regarding the unique, intimal spatial qualities of neon tubes, as HK’s light artist Teddy Lo stated, in comparison with the parametric platitude of LED lighting. All under the visuals of Wong Kar-Wai, Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell.

Either you are returning from eastern break, or preparing for Songkran, have a nice week!