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SCAFFOLDERS building a BAMBOO THEATRE under a VIADUCT in HONG KONG. |
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A Visual Essay.
Every year during the Hungry Ghost Festival scaffolders erect a bamboo theatre on a sloping, canyon-like street on Hong Kong Island. The construction takes just a few days. Then — after just one night of Chinese opera performances and celebrations — the sprawling complex vanishes again. It appears and disappears like a ghost — a fleeting mirage in the city of concrete.
These photos are an ode to the scaffolders who work in the blistering heat to realise this most ephemeral of structures. Their vertigo-inducing performance is as essential a part of the festival as the opera. The spectacle of this elaborate choreography plays out against the sinuous viaduct that towers over the street, a gigantic dragon making its way to the sea.
These scaffolders infuse their humble manual labour with a heroic quality, preserving a treasured tradition through their everyday acrobatics — a priceless gift to the community.
Click on below thumbnails for detailed views.
Location: Hong Kong
Date: photos taken in 2016, 2017 & 2019
Technical data: Sony A7RII camera with Minolta MD 35-70 f/3.5 vintage zoom lens (additional shots with Sony 16-35mm f/4 lens)