17-Year-Old Opens Debut Photo Exhibition ‘Facade: The Back Alley Collective’
PUBLISHED July 31st, 2015 03:00 am | UPDATED May 9th, 2018 03:13 am
Local emerging artist [Lhu Wen Kai](http://lhuwenkai.com/) presents a series of photographs exploring the hidden back alleys of Singapore in his new exhibit Facade: The Back Alley Collective.
Opening Friday, 7th August 2015, Lhu presents a glimpse into the vibrant, yet rarely examined, back alley culture, where these neighborhood microcosms bustle with unique personality, presenting a multi-layered examination that complicates the world’s perception of the shiny, prosperous facade of contemporary Singapore.
This unconventional view of contemporary Singapore exhibits at a non-traditional art venue, Atelier @ 5footway.inn Project Bugis, a local hostel where many audiences intersect. Lhu, a practicing photojournalist, brings his work to the community of explorers who gather at urban hostels, a place where wanderlust and new global viewpoints are encouraged. The exhibition depicts both the dense, chaotic activity of trade and economic expansion, along with the quiet moments of simplicity and daily life. As a whole, the images pay homage to the authentic, working-class roots of a rapidly changing country.
Facade is the debut solo exhibition by local emerging artist Lhu Wen Kai, a student and photographer who graduated from the School of Science and Technology, Singapore, in 2013. At the age of 17, Lhu is a writer, graphic designer and multimedia artist in the visual arts, and has worked with over 50 companies worldwide. As a photojournalist for TheSmartLocal.com, the largest lifestyle blog in Singapore, and a multimedia artist, Lhu uses still and moving images to capture food, landscape, architecture, and the little things in life that are often overlooked. Lhu’s photography has been seen in multiple publications including an undercover boutique hostel guide in Singapore and a food trail guide in Malaysia. He is formerly a referee with the Football Association of Singapore and contributing columnist at British e-magazine WhatCulture. Lhu currently studies filmmaking at the School of Film and Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
The opening reception will take place on Friday, 7th August from 5:30pm onwards at the Atelier @ 5footway.inn Project Bugis, and will run until 5 November.
Admission is free.
For more information, please see [here](http://lhuwenkai.com/).
