Raymond Chan’s photo series The Sounds of Home: Portraits Across the Pacific knows that a framed photo of a pop sensation is so much more than that, as the photograph speaks to the global impact of the Mandopop and Cantopop industry. Chan’s photo series is currently on at the Chinese Canadian Museum (CCM), running from May 28th 2025 to August 23, 2026, as part of CCM’s featured exhibition Dream Factory: Cantopop Mandopop 1980s - 2000.
The Sounds of Home showcases seventeen photos of Cantopop and Mandopop icons taken by Vancouver photographer Raymond Chan. His photographic work speaks not only to the international legacy of these pop icons and Hong Kong’s entertainment industry, but the significance of these icons to the diasporic community in Vancouver. This series therefore speaks to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land.
Some of the celebrities on display include pop star Leslie Cheung, who also moved to Vancouver, and Sally Yeh, a cantopop star who was born in Taiwan but grew up in Victoria. The other Mandopop and Cantopop stars pictured include Jackie Cheung, Karen Mok, Faye Wong, Andy Lau, Sam Hui, Lee Heung Kam, Kelly Chen, Sammi Cheng, Leon Lai, Vivian Chow, and more.
The rest of the Dream Factory exhibition includes bits of pieces of these pop stars that relate more directly to their music and performances. In the first room you enter, you are surrounded by iconic fashion like Leslie Cheung’s red tuxedo gown, while Canto- and Mandopop music videos play on a projection stretching nearly the entire surface of the back wall. The adjacent room has a stage installation constructed by internationally acclaimed artist Ming Wong and Liam Morgan, with opportunities to sing karaoke and sit on rounded couches and listen to your favorite pop stars.
The Sounds of Home takes a different approach to preserving the legacy of Canto and Mandopop stars, with displayed professional photos of the pop sensations, accompanied by their autographs. These have a personal feel that blends the personal touch of the artists’ handwriting with Chan’s photographic vision.