HKFP Lens: Revisiting Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak Airport
To mark 25 years since Kai Tak Airport closed, Blue Lotus Gallery presents photographs by Greg Girard and Birdy Chu in its upcoming exhibition, “Goodbye Kai Tak and Thank You.”
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[From 2023] To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the closure of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport, Blue Lotus Gallery is hosting an exhibition, “Goodbye Kai Tak and Thank You,” featuring works by Canadian photographer Greg Girard and Hong Kong photographer Birdy Chu.
Greg Girard, “Rooftop and Plane,” Hong Kong 1989. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Running from June 30 to July 30, the show gets its name from the final words uttered by former director of civil aviation, Richard Siegel, when Cathay Pacific flight CX251 took off for London Heathrow soon after midnight on July 6, 1998, marking the end of Kai Tak’s run as the city’s main airport.
Greg Girard, “Arriving Kai Tak Airport from Beijing in June,” Hong Kong 1989. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
The airport opened in 1925 and, over the years, made its mark on Hong Kong culture, with images of planes passing perilously close to the rooftops of Kowloon tenement blocks becoming synonymous with Kai Tak itself.
Greg Girard, “Students After School, Kwun Tong Breakwater,” Hong Kong 1987. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Girard and Chu sought to capture these moments and more, recording and uncovering different facets of life that evolved and revolved around the airport.
Greg Girard, “Inside Kai Tak Airport,” Hong Kong 1977. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery. Greg Girard, “Cathay Pacific 747-300 Passing Kowloon Walled City,” Hong Kong 1989. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery. Birdy Chu, “The Last Farewell,” Hong Kong 1998. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Birdy Chu, “Prime Time of the Dragon City,” Hong Kong 1998. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Birdy Chu, “Good Old Days of Kai Tak,” Hong Kong 1998. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Birdy Chu, “The Last Tribute,” Hong Kong 1998, Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery. Birdy Chu, “Insanely close,” Hong Kong 1998. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery. Greg Girard, “Kai Tak Airport Runway and Kwun Tong Breakwater,” Hong Kong 1988. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery. Greg Girard, “Kai Tak Airport View, from Jat’s Incline,” Hong Kong 1992. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Birdy Chu, “Only in Kai Tak,” Hong Kong 1998. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Birdy Chu, “Above Jesus,” Hong Kong 1998. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
Greg Girard, “View of Kowloon Bay with Departing Singapore Airlines 707,” Hong Kong 1975. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery.
