Romain Jacquet-Lagrѐze is a French photographer born in France in 1987. He grew up in Paris suburbs until he moved abroad in 2008. Originally was dedicated to visual art, with a Masters in multimedia and art from East Paris University. His interest in photography began during his period of working in Los Angeles and Tokyo, and subsequently blossomed into a passion after his arrival in Hong Kong. Romain Jacquet-Lagreze landed in Hong Kong for the first time in 2009.
While living in the Yau Tsim Mong area, he became fascinated by the heterogenous character of the city's urban spaces, with modern buildings side-by-side among traditional tong lau. Driven by an ever-stronger curiosity, he began an intensive exploration of the city, trying to capture its diverse atmosphere. Eventually, he realised that the sole common aspect of all these places was the awe one feels when gazing up at the sky between the huge buildings.
His first attempt of recording his new home took the form of the project Vertical Horizon released in 2012 as a photo book. It has been featured in major publications in UK, France, Spain, USA, China and Hong Kong. The photo book has been then reprinted as a second edition in 2014.
2014 is also the year of the release of his second photo book Wild Concrete. This series focuses on trees and plants that are growing wildly on buildings in the middle of the busiest districts of Hong Kong. Romain see these trees as unexpected sprout of life redefining the relationship between man and the nature in an urban environment.
Romain is currently working on his newer photography projects focused on Hong Kong and the several aspects of its unmatched urban development.
