Written by Max Wiener

Mikko Takkunen’s Hong Kong is gorgeously painted. It is less of a global metropolis and more of a large-scale piece of art, brimming with intricacies and details that serve as their focal points. The contemporary cityscape is - the chagrin of appreciators - a capitalistic blob, in-your-face marketing masking the architectural and artistic beauty beneath the garbage. Every urbanscape has its unique sense of style, many of them having the iconography that renders them recognizable from pictures and media alone. But what lies below the surface? What is the allure deep within the traditional narrative?

In his first photo book, Hong Kong (Kehrer Verlag, 2024), Takkunen looks at the region above from an artisan's perspective. The Finnish-born photographer doesn’t aim to just highlight the buildings, neon lights, or its inhabitants' bustling nature. Instead, he looks at what we don’t see: the blossoming underbelly of one of the most interesting places on Earth. His images are poetic, telling their own stories that serve as puzzle pieces for the overall depiction of Hong Kong. He shows us a world both similar and different to our own, a whole of a rich uniqueness that shines brightly on the pages of his book.

Takkunen's use of color throughout Hong Kong is perhaps his most notable characteristic, and the way he brings out the hues in each of his images is genuinely remarkable.. In a very subliminal way, they control the mood and emotionality of the picture, and each chromatic point tells a different story. A deep red may symbolize loneliness, while the baby blue of the vast skies evokes feelings of freedom and carefreeness. Even in images without any subject, the colors become lifelike, their voices being the pop they bring to the work.

Takkunen is a photo editor for The New York Times and has a keen eye for the medium. . The images in Hong Kong Hong Kong are taken from both a documentary and subjective perspective. There is indeed a narrative to the metropolis, and some of his images certainly show us Hong Kong as if we’re seeing it for the first time; this may be true for many. But, even if you’re unaware of Hong Kong and its geography, Takkunen puts on his artist’s cap and shows us the city as an appealing utopia, a wonderland for us to explore our emotions on each page of his book. We feel like we are being taken on a secret journey through the hidden nooks and crannies, places that only the locals know about. This is how we form our understanding of Hong Kong, and we largely have Takkunen to thank. His images bring us a picturesque depiction not found on any media outlet or website. Instead, his book takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey forged by master craftsmanship and nuanced delicateness. It’s something only a photographer can do.