A set of unseen images taken by late veteran Macau lensman and artist Frank Lei Ioi Fan (1962-2022) are presented in an ongoing exhibition titled “Frank Lei: Cuba ’92” at the Taipa Village Art Space, giving exhibitiongoers a glimpse into his large body of work.
The exhibition features black-and-white images taken in Cuba, a place that held a significant place in Lei’s artistic career, during his first trip there in 1992, visiting Havana and Santiago de Cuba. While he launched an exhibition and photo book titled “Cuba Cuba” 10 years after his trip that featured photos shot in colour, the exhibition showcases Lei’s black-and-white documentary images taken during the same period that were previously kept in his archives.
“These monochrome images capture the daily life and emotions of the Cuban people with a more subtle and restrained perspective”, according to a recent statement by the Taipa Village Cultural Association, adding that the images allow viewers to “reimagine the scenery of the island that deeply captivated Frank’s soul” and the unseen side of his Cuba journey”.
The statement pointed out that these works were brought to light with the help of Lei’s family, close friends and Alan Ieong Chon Weng, one of the co-founders of local photography group and platform “Dialect”.
Lei was born in Beijing and came to Macau at the age of 10. An award-winning photographer, he had exhibitions in France, Macau and Hong Kong. He worked as a reporter for Chinese language Macao Daily News and also taught at the Macao Polytechnic Institute (nowadays known as the Macao Polytechnic University/MPU), the statement said, adding that he was also the founder of the art group Comuna de Pedra de Macau (“Macau Stone Commune”).
The free-admission exhibition is open from 12 noon to 8 p.m., with more information available on
https://www.taipavillagemacau.com/
