Small God, Big City 繁華都市小小神

Following the success of Hong Kong Corner Houses (2011), German photographer Michael Wolf continues with his collaboration with Hong Kong University Press to produce Small God, Big City. Michael again uses his creative eye to draw attention to overlooked objects in the visually rich urban environment of Hong Kong. This time, the object is the Earth God shrine, found commonly by the doorways of shops and homes throughout Hong Kong.

Through his visually stimulating and thought- provoking photographs, Michael challenges our sensitivity to seemingly familiar everyday things. An interpretative text for the photographs is authored by two familiar names: Lee Ho Yin and Lynne DiStefano, who are well-known academics and practitioners of heritage conservation in Hong Kong. The text leads readers to a better understanding of the topic and the meaning behind Michael’s photographs of Earth God shrines in urban Hong Kong. The topic of this book is timely, given the vulnerability of traditional beliefs and practices in an increasingly urbanised Hong Kong. It is hoped that Small God, Big City will provoke deeper thoughts on who we are and what we believe in, in this modern world.

《繁華都市小小神》是自2011年香港大學出版社與德籍攝影師吳爾夫合作出版的《街頭街尾》之後的又一精彩著作。此書以香港鬧市中的土地神位為題材，通過吳爾夫以慧眼看世界的攝影，使讀者對這些隨處可見、看似無奇的東西另眼相看。香港著名的文物保育學者及專家李浩然和狄麗玲，亦再次為吳爾夫的攝影集撰文。他們以淺喻深的文字，令讀者更深入了解土地神，從而更好地欣賞每張土地神位的照片。

《繁華都市小小神》以拜土地為題材，闡述傳統習俗在香港鬧市中的存亡現狀，是一本誘發深思及令人反省的合時之作。