{"title":"Greg Girard","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"greg-girard-under-vancouver","title":"Greg Girard - Under Vancouver","description":"\u003cp\u003eGreg Girard’s photographs of Vancouver from the 1970s and early 1980s show us the city’s final days as a port town at the end of the railway line. Soon after Vancouver began to be noticed by the wider world (Expo 86 is generally agreed on as the pivotal moment), the city began refashioning itself as an urban resort on nature’s doorstep and attracting attention as a destination for real estate investment. At that time, long before post-9\/11 security concerns sealed off the working waterfront from the city, many of Vancouver’s downtown and east side streets ended at the waterfront, an area filled with commercial fishing docks, cargo terminals, and bars and cafes for waterfront workers and sailors. Pawn-shop windows downtown displayed outboard motors, chainsaws and fishing gear. Wandering these streets, living in cheap hotels, Girard photographed the workaday (and night) world of the city where he grew up. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-7 ml-auto\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe photographs in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnder Vancouver 1972–1982\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewere made before Girard began earning a living as a magazine photographer, later establishing a formal practice as an artist. They reveal an early interest in the hidden and the overlooked, the use of colour film at night, and the extended photographic inquiry of a specific place, all of which became signature features of later books such as\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCity of Darkness and City of Darkness Revisited\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(about the infamous Kowloon Walled City),\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003ePhantom Shanghai\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eHanoi Calling\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnder Vancouver 1972–1982\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis the first comprehensive collection of Girard’s early photographs of Vancouver. Made in and of the moment, a young photographer’s earliest engagements (often featuring the underside of the city), the pictures now form an unintended photographic record of a Vancouver that has all but disappeared.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncludes an interview by David Campany with William Gibson.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSigned by the artist\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e24.8 x 17.8 cm\u003cbr\u003e196 pages\u003cbr\u003e90+ colour and black and white\u003cbr\u003ePublished 2017 by Magenta Foundation\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis edition is out of print as of late 2025. \u003cbr\u003eWe are awaiting a reprint in 2026.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Magenta Foundation","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":35669938602148,"sku":"210000002499","price":65.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0448\/8164\/1636\/products\/Greg-girard-under-vancouver.jpg?v=1597692483"},{"product_id":"greg-girard-hk-pm-hong-kong-night-life-1974-1989","title":"Greg Girard - HK : PM - Hong Kong Night Life 1974-1989","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHK:PM. Hong Kong Night Life 1974-1989\u003c\/em\u003e is a stunning visual record of photographer Greg Girard s earliest nocturnal wanderings in Hong Kong. From his first visits in the 1970s, and later, when he called the city home through the 1980s, HK:PM takes viewers through the city s neon lit streets and into tattoo parlours, dive bars and the hotel rooms of soldiers and sailors who frequented them. Other scenes depict the pre-dawn emptiness of Hong Kong s streets and alleys bathed in the colours of artificial light. With a foreword by award winning Hong Kong film maker Ann Hui, HK:PM adds a missing photographic link to the visual history of Hong Kong in the 1970s and 80s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGreg Girard is a Canadian photographer whose work has examined the social and physical transformation in Asia's largest cities for more than three decades. While resident in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s he created, in collaboration with co-author Ian Lambot, the influential book, \u003cem\u003eCity of Darkness\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCity of Darkness Revisited\u003c\/em\u003e, the most thorough record of Hong Kong s infamous Kowloon Walled City. \u003cem\u003eUnder Vancouver 1972-1982\u003c\/em\u003e, published in 2017, looks at the city where he was born, especially the waterfront and other unglamorous parts of the port city, before making Asia his home for the next thirty years. \u003cem\u003eHotel Okinawa\u003c\/em\u003e, also published in 2017, looks at the relationship between the US military and the communities which host the many military bases in Okinawa, where more than 50,000 US troops, dependents and contractors are stationed. Based in Shanghai between 1998 and 2011, his photographic monograph \u003cem\u003ePhantom Shanghai\u003c\/em\u003e (2007), looks at the rapid and at times violent transition of Shanghai as the city raced to make itself \"modern again\" at the beginning of the 21st Century. Other recent titles include \u003cem\u003eHanoi Calling\u003c\/em\u003e (2010), and \u003cem\u003eIn the Near Distance \u003c\/em\u003e(2010), a book of early photographs made in Asia and North America between 1973 and 1986. Girard's work is in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada, The Art Gallery of Ontario, the Vancouver Art Gallery and other public and private collections. His photographs have appeared in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, Paris Match, Stern, The New York Times Magazine. and other international publications. Greg Girard is represented by Blue Lotus Gallery in Hong Kong. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst Edition \/ Second Printing\u003cbr\u003eHardcover\u003cbr\u003e160 pages\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Asia One Publishing Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40384333709476,"sku":"210000007901","price":65.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0448\/8164\/1636\/products\/0d678ec0652d8dcbfb21690fdb861665.jpg?v=1626297834"},{"product_id":"greg-girard-american-stopover","title":"Greg Girard: American Stopover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"In the 1970s and early 1980s, trips to Asia always began in California. Sailing by freighter from San Francisco, or on multi-stopover air tickets to Tokyo or Bangkok, departing from SFO or LAX. I stayed in cheap hotels, or half-slept in all-night cinemas, walked the streets photographing by day and by night. Lingering for days or weeks, traveling by Greyhound to other cities, and then at some point eventually boarding a plane or ship to cross the Pacific.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe US west coast has always been a magnet for young searchers, and it was for me as well. Though in my case it was also a vast departure lounge, a long drawn out stopover, perhaps more than a final destination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a way these pictures mark the beginning of a trip I never returned from. A time of heightened anticipation: the new everyday around me, and the one to come when finally arriving in one of Asia's great cities (and, as it turned out, not leaving for decades). Thanks to Misha Kominek at Kominek Books these photographs from the US in the 1970s and early 80s are now finding an audience I couldn't dare dream of at the time.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e-Greg Girard\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover\u003cbr\u003e160 pages, 80 photographs\u003cbr\u003e30 x 22.7 cm\u003cbr\u003ePublished March 15, 2024 by Kominek, Berlin\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Kominek","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46767043576054,"sku":"210000014638","price":100.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0448\/8164\/1636\/files\/American-Stopover-Greg-Girard_sq1.png?v=1779324621"},{"product_id":"greg-girard-snack-sakura","title":"Greg Girard: Snack Sakura","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"If you know Japan you’ll know a certain kind of drinking place called a\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003esnack\u003c\/i\u003e. They are found all over the country, in large cities and small towns.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eTypically they consist of a counter and a few stools, perhaps a booth or two, usually presided over by a middle-aged woman, the mama, or less often, by a man, the master. The customers tend to be regulars. Unlike a regular bar where a first time customer simply walks in and sits down, the etiquette in a\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003esnack\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efor a newcomer is to first ask the mama if it’s ok to come in. The entertainment, if one can call it that, apart from a simple drink menu, is conversation with the mama, conversation with other customers, and karaoke. At the time of writing they are considered the least fashionable places in the country to have a drink.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSome years ago while travelling in Japan I noticed that every town seemed to have a\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003esnack named “Sakura”. Sakura, or cherry blossom, is so common a name for a business as to be a bit unimaginative perhaps. Though in a way that seemed in keeping with how unfashionable these places were. It really did seem like every town had one and, upon checking with the All Japan Snack Owners Association, they confirmed that indeed, among their members, Snack Sakura was the most common name. And so I decided to try and visit and photograph as many as I could, across the country from Okinawa to Hokkaido.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIn the beginning I had simply stumbled across Snack Sakuras, without looking for them. Once I decided to actually try to find them, things got rather more difficult. Many of them have no phone numbers or web presence. For others that do, by the time you get there you discover they have changed their names, or the building was torn down, or they closed and never re-opened. But little by little I started to make headway. Until after six years of travelling the country I’ve now photographed snacks named “Sakura” in more than half of Japan’s forty-seven prefectures. “Snack Sakura” introduces this not exactly “hidden” world of snacks but one that only comes into view when you look at it from a certain angle.\"\u003cbr\u003e-Greg Girard\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHardcover with dustjacket\u003cbr\u003eEnglish\/Japanese\u003cbr\u003e272 pages, colour illus.\u003cbr\u003e28.7 x 22.4 cm\u003cbr\u003ePublished June 2025 by Kominek\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Kominek","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49810276385014,"sku":"210000018223","price":110.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0448\/8164\/1636\/files\/snack-sakura.png?v=1780598845"},{"product_id":"greg-girard-photographs-1971-2026","title":"Greg Girard: Photographs 1971-2026","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003ePre-sales are on now.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eBooks will be available for pick up at The Polygon Gallery beginning on opening night of Greg Girard's solo exhibition on Thursday, July 9 at 7:00pm. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eLimited quantities available. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTwenty-five unique, special editions of the book will be available for purchase beginning on July 9.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eThe catalogue for the first-ever career survey of Greg Girard, one of Canada’s most important contemporary photographers. The exhibition highlights Girard’s deep engagement with the urban landscape, beginning with his early work in Vancouver, where he documented the city’s streets, neighbourhoods, and shifting social fabric in the 1970s and 1980s. His images from this period, collected in \u003ca rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/store.thepolygon.ca\/collections\/greg-girard\/products\/greg-girard-under-vancouver\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnder Vancouver, 1972–1982\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (2017), reveal a city in flux and a photographer attuned to both human presence and architectural change, offering an intimate yet expansive portrait of Vancouver’s history and culture. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eAn early interest in Asia resulted in his living for decades in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai where he captured these cities extraordinary and often tumultuous transformations at the end of the 20th century and into the 21st. His record of life in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City in \u003cem\u003eCity of Darkness\u003c\/em\u003e (1993, first edition; 1999, reprint) and in \u003cem\u003eCity of Darkness Revisited\u003c\/em\u003e (2014, first edition; 2021, reprint) co-authored with Ian Lambot, have formed the basis for countless reimaginings of a dystopian\/romantic, Asia-influenced, urbanized near future in film and video games. These images, along with the work in \u003cem\u003ePhantom Shanghai \u003c\/em\u003e(2007), illustrate the tension between memory and progress, the built environment and human experience, and have earned international acclaim. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eHis photographs have appeared in a wide range of internationally circulating publications, such as \u003cem\u003eNational Geographic\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eTime\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eFortune\u003c\/em\u003e, and the \u003cem\u003eSunday Times Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e (UK). The retrospective offers a sweeping view of Girard’s career, from Vancouver to Asia’s largest most dynamic cities, tracing his evolution as a photographer and his unparalleled ability to capture cities in transition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eForeword by Reid Shier\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction by Elliott Ramsey\u003cbr\u003eTexts by Roy Arden, Hà Đào, and Silke Schmickl\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"\u003eDesigned by The Office of Gilbert Li \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"\u003eHardcover with jacket\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"\u003e9\" × 11.5”\u003cbr\u003e356 Pages with 200+ photographs\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublished by the Magenta Foundation in partnership with The Polygon Gallery \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eISBN 978-1-926856-20-9\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cspan data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"The Polygon Gallery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50723899703542,"sku":"210000019113","price":100.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0448\/8164\/1636\/files\/Greg-Girard---Photographs-1972-_-2026--_1_-1.jpg?v=1779396490"}],"url":"https:\/\/store.thepolygon.ca\/collections\/greg-girard.oembed","provider":"The Polygon Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}