Vitae

Hong Kong artist Ted Lau is born in 1989. Ted is an award-winning fine art photographer. Growing up in Hong Kong, Ted started taking photographs when he was 11. Being brought up in a city where the East meets West, his works have a strong influence from both spheres of the world. He later studied in London, where the western aesthetic made a further impact on him and his artistic perspective.

Being a self-taught artist, Ted loves to capture tranquil moments that are lost in a second. As his technical skills grew, he found ways to express beauty as he sees it.

For Ted, beauty is a feeling, everything has to come together to produce an image that captures a fleeting moment of perfection. He has produced stunning works that were recognised in competitions and he still continues to travel around the world, striving and looking for that inspiration.

Statement

My works are not limited to any specific category of photography. I never intentionally set out to produce work about a particular subject or another. For me, art is a feeling, it does not require context, it does not require a backstory to make sense of it. A work of art should be a viceral thing and it should transcent culture, background and culture. The body and mind should understand and resonate with it as a pure form of visual stimulus. Without that, the image has failed.

There are places in the world and in Hong Kong that interest me, and I allow myself to follow that interest. With my camera and tripod, I would wander the streets without a guide or a map and look for a moment of inspiration. Ignoring road signs and directions, I follow my instincts where it leads me. These excursions are not always fruitful. It is like the black and white of the Yin-Yang, all aspects of the image has to be balanced. Harmony is what I look for in an image. When I have the faint sense of an image coming together, I then impart my way of looking. I try to capture images from a different angle and not be confined by the old established aesthetic while creating a timeless piece at the same time. The image can be minimalist or multi-layered, but everything within the frame needs to align perfectly, in great balance.

Awards

2019 Feature Shoot Emerging Photograhy Awards Winner

2019 Travel Photographer of the Year Finalist (Portfolio - Art of Travel)

2019 Urban Photo Awards Finalist (Creative)

2019 Siena International Photo Awards Finalist (Professional - Landscape)

2019 PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris Honourable Mention (Professional - Fine Art)

2018 Chinese International Photography Awards Second Place (Professional - Nature)

2018 Chinese International Photography Awards Third Place (Professional - Fine Art, Architecture)

2018 Better Photography Photo of the Year Bronze Award (Creative Flair, Exotic Travel, Classic Landscape)

2018 International Photography Awards OneShot : Street Photography Honourable Mention (Professional - Urban Scenery, People)

2018 Chinese International Photography Awards Honourable Mention (Professional - Fine Art)

2018 The 12th Annual International Color Awards Honourable Mention (Professional - Advertising)

2018 The 12th Annual International Color Awards Nominee (Professional- Architecture, People)

2018 International Photography Awards Honourable Mention (Professional - Fine Art, Nature, Sports, Editorial: Photo Essay and Feature Story)

2018 The 13th Annual Black & White Spider Awards Nominee (Professional - Abstract, Wildlife, People, Nature, Sport, Children of the World)

2018 PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris Bronze Winner (Amateur - Advertising)

2017 Tokyo International Foto Awards Silver Winner (Student - Fine Art Still Life)

2017 Tokyo International Foto Awards Bronze Winner (Student - Advertising Product, Nature Wildlife)

Exhibitions

2020 Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards Winners Exhibition, Aperture Foundation-Burden Gallery, New York

Publications

The Castle. London: MACK, 2018. With texts by Behrouz Boochani, Judith Butler, Paul K St-Amour, and Richard Mosse. Hardback with 28 double gatefolds. Metallic ink on uncoated black paper. 24.5 x 32cm, 232 pages. ISBN 978-1-912339-18-1. Second printing, September 2019. €65/£60/$80