Season Lao: the Macau-born artist whose lens went from an old Macau courtyard to the snows of Hokkaido

A Macau-born contemporary photographer known for minimalist images of snow, fog and empty space. A graduate of the Macao Polytechnic, he drew attention in 2009 with work documenting Macau's old buildings, then settled in Hokkaido and Kyoto to make his art, with works held by the Macao Museum of Art and the Asian Art Museum in Nice, among others.

From a vanishing old courtyard in Macau to the boundless snowfields of Hokkaido — Season Lao's lens has always sought a poetry of empty space.

Season Lao is a Macau-born contemporary photographer known for minimalist images of snow, fog and emptiness.

Profile

• Chinese Name: 劉善恆
• English Name: Season Lao
• Born: 1987 (Macau)
• Domains: Culture · Photography
• Subject type: Photographer / contemporary artist

Background

Season Lao was born in Macau in 1987, grew up in the old city of the Portuguese era, and graduated from the Macao Polytechnic (art and design). In 2009 he documented century-old Macau buildings — including the courtyard where he was born — that were facing demolition; at once an artwork and an act of preserving the city's memory, it became a turning point in his career.

Career

I. The Hokkaido years (2010–2020)

From 2010 Season Lao settled in Hokkaido, Japan, using minimalist snow and fog photography to explore dependent origination and the play of the real and the void. His images, full of empty space and verging on the abstract, became his distinctive visual language.

II. Kyoto and international collections

From 2020 he moved to Kyoto, making site-specific installations in Pure Land Buddhist temple gardens and showing at fairs such as ART OSAKA. His works are held by the Macao Museum of Art, the Asian Art Museum in Nice, the Cernuschi Museum in Paris and several foundations, and he has held a solo exhibition in Nice.

Key Achievements

• Built a distinctive minimalist photographic language from Hokkaido's snow and fog
• Works held by the Macao Museum of Art, the Asian Art Museum (Nice) and the Cernuschi Museum (Paris)
• Drew attention in 2009 with images of Macau's old buildings

Information compiled from publicly available sources (Wikipedia, Creative Macau, the artist's official materials and art-fair records). If anything is inaccurate or needs updating, please contact us — we aim to respond within 48 hours.