Frances de Saint Germain


Born in London, then growing-up in London and Paris, I was drawn to art in general from a very young age. Happily settled in Hong Kong since 1997, I still work regularly across painting, pottery and sculpture.

Photography has been omnipresent in my adult life, though purely as a figurative medium. I'm an observant person, constantly noticing funny, interesting or beautiful scenes around me, so my camera is an obvious way for me to preserve these images.

However, nothing prepared me for the photographic journey I now find myself on, at this later stage in life!

In 2020 I took a very random photograph of the hull of my husband's first boat, when it was in dry-dock, here in Hong Kong. It wasn't a very good photograph, but it intrigued me at the time. I didn't do anything about it, until I had a similar opportunity to photograph the underside of his next boat, in 2022...and that is when the penny dropped, and the fun started!

Since then, I can be found lurking in the boatyards of Hong Kong, faithful camera in hand, crouching beneath boats under maintenance, observing the various stages of their disrepair to repair. I love the weathered-hulls, exposed structures, traces of workmanship, of paint layers having been stripped back or reapplied. 

Already excited with what I see through my lens during these photo shoots, I'm always eager to find out what the hulls have to offer, once I get them home. Through subtle adjustments in colour, contrast and framing, these details metamorphose, slipping towards abstraction, becoming unfamiliar territories that hint at vastness, depth and the unknown. Quite a revelation!

I am available for commissions,
and will be having an Exhibition soon -
head to my News page to find out more!

I