C I T Y T A L K
I've actually met Rory before in London. We both attended the same college but it's been well over 8 years and recently he has come to the attention of media through his photographic exhibition in Hong Kong at the HK Art Center with photographers Philip Tse and Henri Bocculier just little over two weeks ago.
Rory was born in Hong Kong but left with his family to live in Australia at the age of four. By the time he was 20 he has already
To most people, Rory would seem like your typical blue collar worker, but to some of us who knew him, he is the rowdy, humorous and philosophical man from the moon who was the constant mischief maker. I was seriously looking forward to our meeting after eight years. He has a certain finesse that is rare to find, a gentleman of the first order. A mixture one could say, between a renegade rogue and Rhett Butler.
The man I finally met did not even remotely resemble much of the man I once knew. Dressed stylishly in Issy Miyake suit and tie with grudge ripped up Gianni Versace jeans and military boots I was seriously shocked to say he actually looked great. Undoubtedly a rebel is always rebel and a tiger never changes its stripes. Seated by his side are two gorgeous models, Gretchen and Yukiko whose faces adorn part of his latest photo expo.
While much as changed, for Rory it's still pretty much the same. He still likes to shock people as he did with his exhibition and the way he dresses. "I'm not a fashion addict," he protests. "I dress according to my moods, sometimes I just want to make a little statement." Somehow in my mind, he was as wild and bold as the day he attended the graduation, naked except for the socks and shoes, the square hat on his head and the scholarly black gown.
The Adventure Begins
"Like many parents, my family had great hopes that I'd become a doctor, or engineer, architect or even a lawyer since I like to argue and debate so much. But nonetheless they support my ideas until I run out of steam which was often in those days." Rory said. "Somehow, my mother always knew I'd end up in the entertainment world. I think she guessed I'd be in front of the screen and not behind it as I am now." But when Rory took off for the road and disappeared for months at a time, the family lost hope in their son at ever attaining anything. So when he graduated from Military Cadet school, Rory took off with four friends to Malaysia and ultimately ended up in Paris. "It wasn't immediate, I worked at two jobs for almost 7 months to save enough money for my holiday trip, but we only had enough money to get us to Malaysia, so that's where we went." He admits. "Oh we could've gone further, but that would mean we'd have enough money for a plane ticket and nothing else. heck we were staying in YMCA and youth hostels, other times we camped out. So while one of us would get a single room, the others would sneak in afterwards because that was the cheapest way to do it."
According to Rory, one thing led to another, and soon the four friends, found a bunch of Dutch and French travellers like themselves. They headed west by the way of hitchhiking, stowaway, train hopping and walking. Paris was their final destination and it took 14 months to complete. In that time they crossed India from Calcutta to Bombay, entered into Afghanistan and went south into northeastern Africa passing through Egypt, Israel, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya as well as Lebanon then crossed the Mediterranean to Iraq, Iran, Turkey and finally to Prague. "The only one misfortune was when Glen lost his passport, and like an idiot he brought one illegally. Strangely enough it was
a German one." Rory said. "Glen couldn't speak a word of it but thought it was cool. Hell, we all objected, but he got caught in Turkey when at the immigration check point, they spoke to him in German. We were all scared as hell. Did you remember the film Midnight Express? We thought it was the end, but we found out later that they were going to deport him back to Australia and since there was nothing we could do and all our papers were in order we carried on."
It would be another three months before they made their way to Austria. Spending 5 weeks in Greece soaking up the sun, drinking Ouzo and ogling naked women on the beach. It was the reward they gave themselves in celevration of their long journey before carrying on. They arrived in Paris in the Summer of 80, Rory had just turned 18 two months earlier.
"It was a trip that made me see life differently and the beauty of everything around me. Actually to put it quite simply," he said. "It gave me culture and perspective. The most important thing was realizing I could do anything I want, and if I set my mind to the task and remain focused, it can be achieved." For Rory this was a trip of a lifetime but ultimately this would be the first of many such trips.
from 1980 to 91 Rory would make 3 more month long trips all over the globe, completing his double masters in filmic studies as well as working part time on movie sets, television and photography. His credits on films would include Year of the Dragon, four Jackie Chan films, Taipan, Farewell My Concubine, and the television mini series Noble House. Strangely enough the one major impact on his life would be his search for the original route taken by Marco Polo on the Silk Road, the trip actually ended up on the high mountains of the Himalayas in Tibet. Enlightened by Buddhist teachings and armed with a purpose in life, he returned to the States and completed a third degree while working as an assistant to a fashion photographer in New York. On the side he would work on small photography projects photgraphing model headshots, simple print assignments and working as a production assistant or as a grip in films. By 1993 Rory already had 2 photographic exhibitions in London and Osaka. He opened up his first production office in Hong Kong providing technical services in audio, lighting and fashion exhibitions in Hong Kong and slowly expanded to a new office in Paris as well as establishing a photographic business in Osaka, Japan. At the age of 27 he had accomplished more than he had ever hoped. "Oh I had some pretty rough times too," He lamented. "But I never let it get me down or let it hinder me." He forged ahead, giving up control of the companies to his brothers Franc and Calvin, he took a fresh start in a new direction. This time going into full time makeup artistry and photography. "I seem like a jack of all trades, it's because I am." Rory comments, "But what I'm trying to do is building my career to be multi-facetted and making myself more marketable."
"Wouldn't it make more sense if you stayed focus on one thing rather than so many?" I asked. "Perhaps," He replies. " But career is also like life, full of different dimensions, facets, angles and directions. I might not know everything, but I'll know and understand enough to make me get work in almost any environment." Indeed his career boomed and he started flying more and more often working all over the globe from Frankfurt to Sydney and New York to the Sahara desert. He has worked with fashion designers like Romero Gigli, Jean Paul Gautier, Issy Miyake, Kensai Yamamoto, Nina Ricci, Gianni Versace, Ragence Lam, Vera Wong, Florence Freda, John Galliano, Celine, Caroline Rohmer, Max Mara, Junko Shimada and many more.
Snowball Effect
It seems that he has chosen his career well. Everything seems to be rolling in Rory's favor and as he puts it, it's a Snowball Effect. " You start off slow but if you remain persistent , things slowly will begin to move in the right direction. Just likea snowball as it rolls down the hill gathering size and momentum." When asked whether he thinks he has made it in the fashion and entertainment, he answered flatly, "No. It takes alot more and more time and efforts are required. When I get on the podium and accept the Golden Globe or Oscar, then perhaps I can say I've arrived at a landmark in my life and career." "My ultimate goal," he continued, "is to direct my own script, ...and yes I've been writing as well."
When asked about the exhibition that will end in a week's time his reply was, "It was fun, alot of hard work
but fun." It is difficult to imagine a man such as Rory with a busy schedule running from job to job and flying all over the globe to actually take time to put together a exhibition. "It wasn't my idea, Philip asked me if I'd like to contribute to the photo expo, I choose 13 prints and here we are." We asked what he thought of the overall response. He shrugs his shoulders and replied, "Good I guess, I donno. Of course I'm just guessing, but should I worry about the response? Besides It doesn't really matter coz I believe beauty is in the eyes of the beholder." Perhaps one thing hasn't changed in all these years, Rory is as cocky as ever. He has a fun and friendly nature that makes his cockiness more of a playful taunt . What is very evident is his attitudes and optimism about life. Through it all, his self esteem and humility is what makes Rory, Rory. Always very modest about his work and insistent in giving everyone credit for work. "I'm not a one man band." He comments, "Those who helped on the projects I work on should be given credit and should be recognized for the work they performed. I certainly didn't do any thing alone or single handedly, so for
those people, they should get credit." It is without doubt that Rory is headed in a direction of his choosing, perhaps even a destiny of greatness awaits, who can tell. But certainly many of us who knew him will always have our eyes and ears open. In my honest opinion. If any one should reach the top in a blaze of glory, it is undoubtedly Rory Lau.
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Uploaded: July 26, 1998
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