Colonial Legacy

We all have our ‘weltanschauung’ or worldview that defines and shapes our outlook on life and our attitude to life. I describe my ‘weltanschauung’ as, “Nothing is Separate’. The Chinese may prefer to proffer their Yin and Yang principles or to explain that small causes may have big effects. For me it is enough to look into small matters to better understand big issues. So what was it that attracted me to the colonial styled architecture of Macau?

Well, several things. Firstly, I was surprised at the United Nations sanctioned accolade for Macau’s efforts at ‘Heritage Conservation’. I hadn’t expected this. And then when I visited Macau to look for myself at the renovation and restoration I was surprised by the efforts that had been made and the general level of awareness, that seemed to me, to be so far ahead of events in Hong Kong; a city I was more familiar with. For me, the restoration and conservation of heritage architecture is a city’s expression of its interest in and understanding of, a “sustainable” future.

Howard Scott

Howard Scott began his working life as a trader in China but photography was his real passion and so he enrolled in the Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland. He went to Paris during his Master of Arts and photographed extensively throughout Eastern Europe immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Paris sojourn also enabled him to work as a business consultant over a three-year period to The Magnum Photo Agency. After Paris he returned to work in the Pacific and then, at the beginning of the 21st century, he began his doctorate in Fine Arts, again at Elam. This time he photographed in Hong Kong. During 2005, Scott photographed extensively along the Mekong River, in Western Australia and Queensland and by year’s end in Xiamen where he photographed the heritage architecture of Gulangyu. Then in early 2006, in association with Canterbury University’s Ilam School of Fine Arts, he came to Macau to continue recording a selection of heritage architectures.