Interview by Rui Pastorin
In 1999, Portuguese photographer Pedro Ramos captured a pivotal moment in Macau’s history: Its return to the motherland.
Ramos, who grew up in Macau and studied at Portuguese-curriculum public secondary school Liceu de Macau (澳門利宵中學), graduated in photography from the Ar.Co Centre for Art and Visual Communication in Lisbon.
In 1998, he kicked off his career as a professional photographer and a year later he decided to “risk it” and try his luck, and returned to Macau. It was during this period that the then twenty-something year-old captured moments from its return along with stills of what the city was between that year and 2000, Ramos told the Post during an interview on Wednesday.
With his exhibition “Macau’s Reflections – Now and Then” at the basement gallery of the Portuguese Bookshop on Rua de São Domingos (板樟堂街), he presents a selection of those works, alongside photos taken between 2019 and 2024, with the latter marking the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland. Altogether, he said, the exhibition “covers a bit of 25 years of Macau’s history”, coming back full circle and offering both a personal view and reflections on the city.
While Ramos is now based in Portugal, he maintains a “deep connection with Macau” and said that he visits the city as much as he can, wanting to keep the bond. “I always see it as a very quiet and calm place, even though it’s one of the most densely populated cities in the world”, always searching for the calm and quiet moments amidst the city’s bustling nature. And it’s this quietness within the “madness of a busy city” that Ramos finds here that he enjoys and portrays in his photos. “What I like the most about Macau is this quietness, and this peace of mind that you can also feel in a busy city”.
Ramos also spoke about the other things that he liked about photographing Macau and while its hotels and integrated resorts are quite visually appealing. For Ramos, they don’t totally represent the city. “It’s part of Macau, for sure, but it’s not the part that I have a big connection with”, being mostly drawn to the city’s markets and temples, mainly things that are “a bit outside the touristic route”.
As his photography career draws closer to its 30-year mark, Ramos said that presenting photos of Macau was important to him, being both a great pleasure and honour. While all of the photos are for sale, Ramos said that this was not the main point of holding the exhibition, but was instead about showing how he sees the city. “It’s more to share and to show my personal view of Macau”, being glad to have the opportunity to be invited to present these works, along with the support that he has received.
Members of the public may view the works at the free-admission gallery from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until December 30.
-This story is a continuation of a Post article published yesterday titled “Pedro Ramos provides portal to Macau’s past & present”, which can be read on https://www.macaupostdaily.com/news/26872
– Photos taken on Wednesday night by Rui Pastorin
