Holly Lee

Holly Lee (Chinese: 黃楚喬 ), born 1953 in Hong Kong, is an artist-photographer, best known for her portraits project, the Hollian Thesaurus. She was one of the pioneers of conceptual photography in Hong Kong, experimenting with Photoshop to create composite photographs that were reminiscent of oil paintings. Her work has been collected by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and M+ Museum.

Holly Lee has worked as a professional photographer since 1980. She was one of the founders of Dislocation, a monthly photography journal in Hong Kong active from 1992 to 1998. In 1997, she re-located from Hong Kong to Toronto, Canada where she and Lee Ka Sing, an artist-photographer, set up INDEXG (a gallery and art studio space). The duo now publishes online on a weekly periodical, Double Double by Ocean Pounds.

Holly Lee is best known for her works in the Hollian Thesaurus project. The project consists of twelve portraits created between 1994 and 2000, contemplating and exploring a period of change in Hong Kong leading up to the handover of Hong Kong. Lee explores themes of East and West cultural dialogues and identities, often juxtaposing historical and contemporary elements.

Using digital manipulation, Lee combined photographs, sourced imagery and 19th-century export painting from Guangdong to create the Hollian Thesaurus portraits. The portraits are reminiscent of Renaissance oil paintings—Lee added fine lines to mimic the cracks in old oil paintings, creating an air of nostalgia. Her most recognised portrait, The Great Pageant Show, presents a Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant winner in the style of Queen Elizabeth II presented in front of a Qing court painting.