Ebb and Flow: A Visual Chronicle of the Changes within Liverpool’s Chinatown @ Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, until 22 Jun

Ebb and Flow takes us through the history of photographers' enduring interest in Liverpool’s Chinatown, the oldest in Europe. The exhibition kicks off with a new commission from Jamie Lau, who was invited, despite having no prior knowledge of Liverpool’s Chinatown, to make a body of work based on his initial impressions. His images, often taken at night in a semi-creeping observational style, convey a sense of isolation; peeping through the windows of various takeaways and restaurants, the staff and punters are unaware of his gaze. We spot one man apparently eating alone but then notice his partner's head amusingly obscured by a large roast duck. The photographs taken in daytime or dusk have a slower, more considered quality. Lau catches the dazzling brilliance of light shining off green supermarket shutters and deep shadows as sunset envelopes the architecture, patterns and dragons.

A recent audio-visual archiving project from Liverpool-based duo The Sound Agents (John Campbell and Moira Kenny) occupies the second gallery. Interviews play on a loop alongside two cases with archival material – identity cards, alien stamp books, passports and photographs. Sharing this gallery is Martin Parr, commissioned by Open Eye in 1986 to document the connections between Liverpool and Manchester. He focuses on the Chinese communities and particularly the rhythms of people’s daily life. The photographs spotlight the older generation: a plump old couple in their living room, older ladies playing Mahjong, and Mr San waving from the door of his café.

The upstairs gallery is devoted to Bert Hardy (1913-1995), the prolific press photographer best known for his work with Picture Post. The selection focuses on the Chinese seamen based in the city during WW2. Picture Post did not publish any of the images Hardy took of the seamen, which would have been damaging due to the poor living conditions they reveal. The crew are captured eating, washing, cooking and smoking during their shore leave; they're packed into hostels or seaman’s boarding houses, sharing bunks, washing in what look like horse troughs. There is some reprieve when out on the streets: we see the men smiling and joking in groups outside shops and pubs, but always with signs of war in the background. The rich, multi-layered narratives are testament to Hardy’s unique style. This is not just an exercise in observation, or even technical prowess – it shows Hardy’s eye for the story and we can read his images like a book.