Neon Fantasies 霓虹遐想 

Neon lights are synonymous with Hong Kong where at one time there were over 100,000 neon signs that decorated the city. It would be almost impossible to remove this visual language from how the city is presented in art and culture, photography and films. Neon first became recognised in Hong Kong in 1920 and the first sign appeared in Shanghai in 1926. Flourishing in Shanghai in the 1930s, Hong Kong was, as always, quick to follow the trend opening a neon light factory in 1932. Seen as effective advertisements and signages, first lighting up the streets of Wan Chai (escorting the growing nightclub scene), followed by Nathan Road in Kowloon. Neon signs gain ever greater prominence in Hong Kong in the post World War II era and in the 1950s “neon boom” in Hong Kong. In the Wan Chai District, the neon streetscape of Lockhart Road emerges in sync with the flourishing nightclub business catering to the Marines as US warships made stops in the city during the Korean War. The emergence of more energy-efficient LEDs in the 1990s initiated the decline and by 2003 Hong Kong’s neon manufacturing relocates to mainland China; companies remaining in the city diversify to LEDs and light boxes. Between 2006 to 2012 a number of emergency reports on street signs are received, raising a public safety issue. The Buildings Department removes about 3,000 unauthorised signboards per year. In 2013, Hong Kong’s “Validation Scheme for Unauthorised Signboards” was implemented, furthering the disappearance of neon signs from the city’s streets. 

Keith Macgregor’s “Neon Fantasies” series imagines a Hong Kong landscape where there are no restrictions on neon lights and where signs take over and cover all the darkness of the night. Where more is more and bigger is better - the works show the psyche of the city that never sleeps. Digital collage of photographs is used to present this alternate reality which also represents a new development in the work of the artist who primarily takes landscape and street photography. At the heart of the project is a nostalgic love affair with the disappearing neon lights, a longing for a bygone era before the city started to become “sanitised” and a deep connection to the place Macgregor once called home. "Neon Fantasies" expresses how the artist believes the city should look like today, abound in colour, diversity and optimism.

霓虹燈是香港的代名詞，全盛時期曾經有超過10萬個霓虹燈招牌裝飾。幾乎不可能將這種視覺語言從城市在藝術和文化、攝影和電影中的呈現⽅式中刪除。霓虹燈於1920年⾸首次在香港得到認可，第一個招牌於1926年在上海出現，而香港緊隨上海的發展在1932年已在本開設霓虹燈工廠。 作為有效的廣告和招牌，首先照亮灣仔的街道，其次是九⿓龍彌敦道。在第二次世界⼤戰後的香港和20世紀50年代的香港霓虹燈熱潮中，霓虹燈在香港的地位日益突出。在灣仔區，駱克道的霓虹燈街景與朝向海軍陸戰隊的蓬勃發展的夜總會業務同步出現，因為美國軍艦在朝鮮戰爭期間在本市停留。20世紀90年代，因節能LED燈的出現引至霓虹燈的招牌數目下降，到2003年，香港的霓虹燈製造業搬遷到中國大陸，而大多數公司招牌都改用LED和燈箱。在2006年至2012年期間，收到了一些關於路牌的緊急報告，引發了公共安全問題。屋宇署每年清拆約3,000個未經批准的招牌。 2013年，香港實施了「未經授權的招牌驗證計劃」，進一步消除了城市街道上霓虹燈。

Keith Macgregor的《霓虹遐想》系列想像一個香港的景觀，對霓虹燈沒有任何限制，招牌覆蓋夜晚的所有黑暗。更多更⼤更好的地方 - 作品展現了香港不夜城的⼀面。照片採用數碼拼貼呈現這種替代現實，這也代表了以往主要拍攝風景和街頭攝影的 Keith作品的新發展。《霓虹遐想》系列是對消失的霓虹燈的懷舊情懷，在城市開始變得「乾淨」之前對過去時代的渴望，以及與Keith稱之為家的地⽅的深層聯繫。