I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Monday January 13th — —

The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Monday January 13th — —

“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Monday January 13th — —

Neo-Ne

Neo-Ne is a project which was founded in 2012 by Hong Kong-based Leo Li. Born out of a major interest in the concept of vision, Neo-Ne explores the world of visuality via two different ways: spectacles and photography. Both form a visual gateway to the world via a lens. When looking either through the lens of your spectacles or indirectly through the lens of the photo camera, according to Leo Li: “what you see is what you see.” The spectacles side of the project is run by Leo with his father, S.H. Li, who is highly experienced and has been working as a handicraftsman for over 30 years. This combination of the creativity and drive of Leo and the craftsmanship of his father is what exemplifies Neo-Ne.

Neo-Ne offers six different models of spectacles; some reinterpretations of classic designs others with a new aesthetic. The model which stands out in our eyes: The Owl Eyes. This model is inspired by old fashioned eyewear structure which separates the frame and links them by a metal bridge. The elasticity of the metal bridge will adjust the width of the nose pads and will therefore fit on different shapes of noses. The extra large lenses  extend the field of view, inspired by and reminding of the wide range vision owls have.

Another model Neo-Ne created is a variation on the classic aviator named Artem. Inspired by images of youthful gods together with Artemis, goddess of hunting in Greek mythology, the Artem is made to be a piece of work that emits gold and shiny spirit. The golden frame contrast nicely with the deep brown acetate and the golden reflective lens that is made using brown nylon. A nice touch is the eyebrow link, which with the wing details on the spectacles symbolize the arrow of Artemis.

We also like the model which somewhat reminds of the glasses worn by a rather famous fictious wizard, named The Circular. The spectacles are big, round shaped, and according to Leo, quite difficult to handle. The straight forward arms with large frame makes this model not for everyone. The Circular has engravings of the moon and sun at the end of the arms, which amply the romantic and fantastic sentiment this particular model evokes.

For more information on the spectacles and to order online see here, to follow Leo Li’s photography see here.