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Rebecca Lo

Michael Chen's black and white photographs of religious architecture are like a tour of the world's sacred wonders. Atmospheric, accessible and with strong use of light and shadow, they embrace all religions with equal reverence. Yet rare among his collection are images of churches, although he was a dedicated  Catholic until the age of 19.

'I was  baptised a Catholic,' says the 53-year-old. 'My mother was very devout and  influenced my dad. But when I went to university in the US, I started to think about religious matters.

'I wanted to accept all religions as equal. I began to study the Koran, Taoism and other faiths;

I wanted to know what lies beneath their dogma. September 11 triggered my curiosity about what Islam was,' he says. 'I started travelling to Islamic countries and learning about the process behind the faith.'

The most striking images in his exhibition, The Calling for Eternity,  at the Fringe's Economist Gallery & Fotogalerie, are mosques such as Masjid-I Vakil in Shiraz, Iran. A lone pilgrim  forms the picture's focal point, while the symmetry and  intricacy of the structure  seems to magnify his faith.

'It is a ritual for Muslims to wash themselves before praying in the central pool,' says Hong Kong-born, Taipei-based Chen. 'The Shiraz mosque was almost deserted except for this one person. They were also doing some renovation work on the 18th-century mosque. It was a wonderful example of being in the right place at the right time, to see this man against his religion.'

Another favourite is the row upon row of bell-shaped stupas at Borobudur in Java. Erected in Muslim-dominated Indonesia when the country was primarily Buddhist, pilgrims enter the site through one of four gates that lead up to a top terrace.  Because of Borobudur's popularity, the Indonesian government has taken pains to preserve its splendour. But Chen discovered that famous sites have their pitfalls.

Up to 3,000 people visit Borobudur every day,  he says.  'It was very difficult to photograph since there were so many tourists around. I had to remove all the signs warning them not to climb on the stupas and waited about half an hour before I could get my shot. Not that I mind tourists. It's a joy to photograph something that appeals to pilgrims.'

Although he has a large body of work in colour, he wanted the religious buildings to be in black and white.

'I've tried to use colour before,' Chen says. 'I discovered black and white added something to religious buildings. Many of them don't have many colours anyway, except for some of the mosques. Colour can be a very strong visual element, giving people the wrong association sometimes. I didn't want it to be part of the exhibition; I wanted people to see the form.'

When he photographs, Chen  concentrates on the aura that shrouds the building. He  says that the older the temple, the stronger the force that surrounds it.

This exhibition is just the beginning;  Chen has yet to explore South America, Africa and Europe in detail. 'When I go to a different culture, I have to photograph religious buildings,' he says. 'When I go to  [them], I feel rejuvenated and a sense of awe - a respect for God and kinship.'

Chen was interested in art and design from an early age, and  it was natural to venture into photography as a profession.

After he completed his fine arts and photography education in the US in the 1970s, he returned to Hong Kong. He was gallery director at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, then manager at Hanart TZ Gallery until the late 1980s, when he relocated to Taipei.

Chen's day job is director of Modern Art at Jeff Hsu's Art in Taipei. After years as a curator, he made a determined effort to  return to photography two years ago. He even converted his guest room into a darkroom to develop his  negatives and print his   photographs.

'I  realised I was ignoring the photography side, so I reduced my workload to three days a week,' he says. 'It wasn't easy to find equipment for my darkroom since everyone has gone digital.'

The Calling for Eternity  has been  exhibited in Taipei, and will return there to show at the Museum of World Religion in the new year. He hopes  his photos will rekindle people's need for religion.

'Sometimes, it can point us to the purpose of life,' says Chen,  'but since the religion of Hong Kong is money, I'm not sure how my photos will be received.'

The Calling for Eternity, the Economist Gallery & Fotogalerie, the Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, inquiries 2521 7251. Ends Friday



Faithfully photographing religious sites from here to eternity