My Top Shot 2022: Kevin Cheng

From kaleidoscopic seasides to buildings that dissolve into pixels to highways that wind into graceful arcs, Kevin Cheng takes the sights of Hong Kong and distorts them into playful and thought-provoking digital images that render familiar sights as surreal art. Digital manipulation is just one of the techniques Cheng uses. As well as using a drone to capture aerial scenes, sometimes adding a disorientating fisheye effect, he also experiments with what he calls “physical AR”, where he draws a scene on transparent Perspex and holds it up to Hong Kong landmarks—for example, turning the M+ museum into a ping pong table.

He also practises more traditional photography: his Instagram feed explores cloud-cloaked landscapes, skyscrapers meeting the ocean, gridded city streets, and the different textures, patterns and contrasts of Hong Kong. “I like to go to old areas and listen to people talking,” he says. “Photography lets me slow down and observe.” At school, Cheng loved art but struggled to express himself through drawing; his teacher suggested he try photography. Fifteen years and a degree in multimedia design later, Cheng is adept at looking at the world in ways that wouldn’t occur to most.

“Because I need to use a wheelchair, [my perspective] is different to the average person. It’s a limitation, but at the same time, it’s my speciality,” he says. Cheng wants to inspire others not only to look at the world in an unconventional way, but also to be aware of how their surroundings shift around them. “I hope my artwork helps viewers appreciate the world and reminds them that it is ever-changing.”