Photofairs Shanghai

Leica is once again a partner of Photofairs Shanghai. From September 9 to 11, 2016, about 50 renowned galleries will be represented at the Chinese art fair. With the motto Visual Stories on China: Leica Photography From 1933 Until Now, Leica is presenting impressive photographs by Marc Riboud, Wulf-Diether Count of Castell-Rüdenhausen, Ian Teh and Liu Jiangling. This year, the prints and frames for the Leica exhibitions are sponsored by Memorieslab. We spoke with Memorieslab founder and director, Raymond Shi, about the collaboration with Leica and the role of hand-made photo prints in today’s world.


Why did you decide to collaborate with Leica for Photofairs Shanghai?

Leica is the epitome of perfection. We have always been passionate Leica photographers ourselves. Most importantly, we chose to collaborate with Leica because of its brand philosophy and dedication to traditional (analogue) photography. Beyond perfection, Leica photography is more about storytelling and truth rather than megapixels. Such values have been shared by Memorieslab from the very beginning.


What does Photofairs Shanghai mean for you? How do you see its future?

Photofairs Shanghai is Asia’s premier photography art fair. For Memorieslab, we aim to empower local and regional artists with premium printmaking and finishing services, with the hope of raising the quality of artworks created in the Greater China region to world standards. At the moment, there’s a clear distinction between international and local galleries in terms of printing and finishing quality.


Nowadays there are countless online printing services, and images are shared excessively through social media. What role does handmade fine art exhibition prints play these days?

Unlike other photo labs, Memorieslab encourages the exploration of analogue printmaking processes by creating a bridge between digital photography and traditional printmaking. In a overly digitalised age, printing is much more about an experience than a service. Hence at Memorieslab we place emphasis on creating memories through photography – not just prints.


For further information visit www.memorieslab.com.