University photographer’s work goes on display in China

Hong Kong artist, teacher has faced hard journey

By Andrew Wiebe

Friday, February 8, 2008

Pok Chi Lau’s photographic documentation of the lives and culture of Chinese immigrants has stretched for 40 years. For the past month, the collection of his life’s work has been on display in an international exhibition in Guangzhou, China, a city of 10 million people. The exhibition began on Jan. 12 and will end Feb. 12.

The exhibition and book that accompanies it, both entitled “Flow, China,” are on display at the Guangzhou Museum of Art. Lau said he traveled to over 30 countries, some as many as 50 times, to capture the human dimension of the movement of the Chinese people from their homeland. As a child of immigrants and an immigrant himself, Lau said his goal was to help people understand their heritage.

Photo Gallery

Pok Chi Lau's China

Photo Gallery

Pok Chi Lau's China Part 2

Photo Gallery

Pok Chi Lau's China Part 3

“The dragon is released now,” Lau said. “The Chinese are all over now looking for resources. All this was about understanding one’s history. What are the opportunities that you can recognize and what opportunities can you create?”

Though his work has been shown all over the world, Lau said it was extremely gratifying to be able to see the way his work affects people in China. Over 180 prints are on display along with multimedia presentations of some of Lau’s travels. The content for both the exhibition and book were subject to approval by the Chinese Government, Lau said.

“It’s satisfying to see another person look at the work and practically put their nose on the glass to examine the details,” Lau said. “Or see a grandfather talking to a grandson and saying ‘This is what I went through in the Cultural Revolution. This is where my house was. This is how I lived, and you guys have it made.’”

Despite his success, Lau’s journey to the University was far from a straightforward process. After being born to Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong, Lau found himself in the no man’s land between Chinese culture and the British colonial rulers of his home.

“They made sure you didn’t know English as well as they do, and your Chinese will never be as good as the Chinese in China,” he said. “You become a nobody and that’s when I came to understand ‘if I’m a nobody, where can I be somebody?’”

That sentiment led Lau to immigrate to Canada as a 17-year-old in order to join his brother in Toronto. With few skills and lacking a work permit, Lau said he was forced to work under-the-table jobs to support himself. It was in Toronto that Lau discovered a passion for photography.

While working for a commercial photography studio in 1971, he was accepted into the Brooks Institute of Art in Santa Barbara, Calif. Lau saved money for a year while working in a Chinese restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Then he made his way to the United States where his meager earnings paid a semester’s tuition, bought a camera and paid rent for only three months.

Once again, Lau said he was forced to find under-the-table work to support himself and his dreams. He said he knew his options if he did not succeed as a photographer, and decided that he would do whatever it took to realize his goals.

“I was not only interested in photography but I told myself ‘if I don’t make it, I’ll never make it at anything,’” Lau said. “I did not want to run a restaurant. I did not want to run a laundry. So I had to be good. I had no choice.”

His work spoke for itself. Under financial pressure, Lau said he received the first scholarship given by the school, although it was only for one semester. Eventually he graduated after four years of study, almost double the time it takes the average student. Though he would have liked to open his own studio, Lau said he had neither the labor status nor capital to start a business.

Instead he found an opportunity to continue his education as a graduate student at the California Institute of the Arts north of Los Angeles. Receiving a scholarship and stipend gave Lau the opportunity to continue the documentary work he began while at the Brooks Institute.

“It was the freedom that propelled me to do documentary work,” Lau said. “I was free. I didn’t need to tell myself that I needed to make a living doing commercial work.”

After graduation he was faced with yet another dilemma, either return to Hong Kong to work or find a way to remain in the United States. A friend suggested teaching and after receiving an offer to teach in Illinois, the University gained Lau’s services by offering a more lucrative pay package.

That was 1977. More than 30 years later, Lau continues to teach in Lawrence and travel to photograph immigrants and the destitute across the globe. Lau said without the help of the University he never could have compiled the work now on display in China.

“I think KU is extremely supportive of what I do,” Lau said. “Without KU’s support, I would never be able to achieve as much as I have.”

Greg Thomas, chair of the design department, said the University is just as grateful to have Lau as a member of its faculty. He said Lau’s global recognition and ability to put ideas in a global perspective make him a priceless asset to the University, especially after the PhotoMedia major was created last year.

“This is someone who can get a faculty position really anywhere he wanted to,” Thomas said. “We are fortunate to keep him here. We aren’t making him any richer, but the fact that he likes it here is to our benefit.”

Lau enjoys his life in central Kansas as well. His son, Tyler, attends the University and the relationships he shares with his students keeps him motivated after 31 odd years. Lau said he is encouraged by his student’s growth as individuals rather than judging them solely by scholarly performance.

Conversely, his students feel honored to have the privilege to learn from a man as accomplished in his field as Lau. Lauren Fulton, Dallas sophomore, said he teaches on a much more personal level than she has ever encountered with any other teacher.

“He stresses that you have to put yourself out there, push beyond being an introvert and being uncomfortable in a situation then be willing to face the unpleasant and hopefully learn from it in the long run,” she said.

Lau certainly understands the unpleasant, but he said he believes that by documenting the unpleasant he and his students can continue to open the people’s eyes to important issues.

“The photograph is a vehicle for conversation to carry from one generation to the other,” he said.

— Edited by Jared Duncan

View Pok Chi Lau's work online here.

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