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The project Listening to the Silence first started out in 2004 as a collection of nails aimlessly gathered on the streets, without an intention of archiving or photographing them. If the context behind the nails did not come into play, this photobook would not have even existed. These old nails and their backgrounds are intrinsically similar in nature — embracing symbolic notions of purity and emptiness. This combination appears to be a component detached from the mundane life, representing a layer of existence peeled away from the reality. By revealing the irrelevance of the nails to actual life in an accidental setup, it reminds people to reexamine the insignificant matters in the surroundings and revisit our imagination in its most natural form. Perhaps we could temporarily depart from the banalities of the reality.

The black cover edition has demonstrated an even more meticulous execution of typesetting and selection of paper in creating a seamless integrity. In contrast to the whiteness of the previous edition, the new reprint features black and white photos flatly printed with rich dark ink, which resembles a black mirror. Metallic silver ink was also mixed into the printing ink, the nails in the photo were instantly given weight and brought to life.

Tang Ho Lun is a photographer from Hong Kong. Since 2013 he has released numerous photography books independently. In 2018, Tang founded his own publishing house (1984 publishing), as an effort to ensure the integrity of his works. In the same year, he published the book titled 36. Tang’s style of photography is tranquil yet mysterious, in a way that stories are often narrated without a plot.