Wing Shya Opens the Vault for New 'Day / Night' Polaroid Collection

Summary

• Hong Kong-based photographer releases Day / Night, a new Polaroid photo book, with Jane & Jeremy.
• The collection features over 100 images take over the last 30 years, including portraits, personal captures and behind-the-scenes images from Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together and In the Mood For Love.

When it comes to cinematic photography, Hong Kong-based Wing Shya is in a league of his own. It’s a potential that caught the eye of one Wong Kar-wai who, early on, enlisted him as his stills photographer. Since then, Shya has long been a defining force behind some of the most iconic imagery in contemporary cinema, with a signature that’s become synonymous with the atmospheric, emotionally charged and delightfully sensual.

In collaboration with Brighton-based publisher Jane & Jeremy, Shya is releasing Day / Night, a new photobook featuring over 100 polaroids taken over the last three decades, weaving together personal snapshots, intimate portraits and rare, behind-the-scenes images from Wong Kar-wai classics, like Happy Together and In the Mood For Love.

The book unfolds in two separate acts: Day and Night. The first is grounded by the “spontaneity in life” and a subtle, sunlit energy, while the second delves into more shadowed moods. A marriage of time and tone, together they capture the fleeting, poetic moments of everyday life.

“It all started with my work as a stills photographer on set. It was before everyone had a camera, so the only means of having a snapshot to instantly share had to be polaroids,” Shya described. “Over the years, they have turned into this collection of 1000’s of different instant moments. They might have been candid and lacking intentions, but I personally enjoyed looking at the compilation edited by J&J, which turns out to be a subconscious visual voice that has been speaking to me through my visuals the entire time.”

Day / Night is now available for purchase via Jane & Jeremy’s website for £60.00 GBP.