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From grainy film to the iPhone: Exhibition showcases Chinese contemporary photography

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20:48 24/08/2016
40 works by the country’s leading photographers reflect the nuances of Chinese society from 1980s to today

The shift from film to digital photography was a watershed moment for artists around the world. It was especially significant in China, where it coincided with the economic reforms and social transformations of the 1980s.

Brussels' China Cultural Centre (CCC) is showcasing from today until 10 September some of China’s finest contemporary photography. The exhibition, China: Grain to Pixel, housed in a beautiful Neoclassical building in the EU quarter, displays 40 works from 25 photographers and marks China’s radical social and cultural changes over the past 35 years.

Young, aspirational photographers including Chen Man (28) and Chilli (29), who studied together, demonstrate commercial - even kitsch - images, particularly Chen’s exhibition poster "Miss Wei Studies Hard". This depicts a mini-shorted woman, the granddaughter no less of Wan Li, an economic leader under Deng Xiaoping, cycling with her Dior bag on a bicycle piled high with books.

Organised by the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV and the CCC, which celebrates its first year on 15 September, the exhibition is curated by the Shanghai Center of Photography, founded by Pulitzer prize-winning photographer and author Liu Heung Shing and his partner Karen Smith.

Photography in the iPhone age

Hong Kong-born Liu, a former foreign correspondent and Associated Press photojournalist, told The Bulletin: "This show, a pared down version of one in Melbourne, emphasises the major changes in Chinese life and photography from 1980 to now.

“Photography is huge in China, especially now with the iPhone. Instead of traditional documentation, young people are using film and digital techniques, with photography an art form in a much broader way possible than it was before.”

Liu, whose wonderful naturalistic work on display includes a scene involving Sesame Street’s Big Bird, singles out Han Lei’s buxom "Girl in Hair Salon" as a standout piece for being "very different from the typical ideal of thin means beautiful".

Another exhibition highlight for him is Song Chao's striking, evocative coal miners. Liu added: "A former miner, Song is close to the people so they let him photograph. They did not want to pose for me, saying ‘we’re dirty’!"

Scenes from society

Many of the photos tell stories reflecting Chinese society. "The problem of education is shown in 'Miss Wei' and 'Follow Me' [an arresting picture where students slumped over their books contrast with the upbeat 'Study Well, Progress Every Day' slogan on the walls], even photographer Wang Quingsong is there with a hospital drip," Liu notes.

China’s notorious one-child policy, initiated in the 1970s to reduce population growth but relaxed this year, is evident in Li Nan’s "Midwives", while Mu Ge’s "Going Home: Terminal Passengers", depicting young workers waiting for boats to take them to the Chengdu software factories, evokes China’s excessive economic growth.

Other photographers featured like Zhang Wei rework classical Leonardo da Vinci paintings using the latest techniques, while Lu Yao’s "High Pavilion in Cool Summer" looks like a typical Hokusai print – until it’s clear Lu has superimposed photographed items over the ink drawings using digital technology.

The exhibition also remembers Chinese traditions, including delightful nostalgic landscapes and village scenes. Liu explains he took a photo of a couple sitting in Shanghai People’s Park, a black-and-white still reminiscent of Robert Capa or Henri Cartier-Bresson, when (in 1978) "people queued to sit on park benches to get some privacy, there’s no personal space in Chinese homes".

Until 10 Septmber, China Cultural Centre, Rue Philippe le Bon 2, Brussels. Open Monday-Friday 9.30-18.00. The CCC’s next exhibition, Water + Ink: Tradition in Contemporary Art, runs from 1-24 September.

Written by Liz Newmark

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Jun 16, 2017 10:17