Zhang Xiao (photographer) explained

Zhang Xiao (born 23 November 1981, in Yantai[1]) is a Chinese photographer who has published several series of photographs of China in flux.

Life and career

Zhang graduated in architecture from Yantai University in 2005. From 2006 to 2009, he worked in Chongqing as a photographer for the Chongqing Morning Post (《重庆晨报》). From the start, he carried two cameras: one for work, and a cheap medium format camera for personal use.[2]

Zhang has been inspired by the photography of Diane Arbus, Alec Soth and Boris Mikhailov.

They

They is a series of photographs mostly taken while Zhang was working in Chongqing; they are of scenes in Chongqing itself but also from nearby on the Yangtze and Jialing rivers and elsewhere. The colour photographs are square format, and employed a Holga camera. A book of the photographs was published in China in 2012; two years later a smaller selection was published in Paris.

Coastline

For Coastline, Zhang "visited every town and city along the Chinese coastline", from 2009 to 2013. The photographs are colour again, but this time Zhang used a Mamiya 7 II camera. Zhang has described the coastline as "[China's] first area of impact from external culture and the rapid economic development; the series "records subtle and surreal moments of life by the sea".[3]

Cited by Agnès Sire as showing an intimate and contemporary China without any exoticism, Coastline won 2011, and as a result was widely exhibited and published in book form in Arles by Actes Sud in 2011.[4] Three years later, a different selection was published in Kowloon by Jiazazhi Press, and a smaller selection in Tokyo by Zen Foto Gallery.

Envelopes

In China, photojournalists are offered cash for their positive comment on a topic they are covering. Although in his career as a photojournalist Zhang declined such offers of envelopes containing large sums of money where he considered it unconscionable to do so, he accepted those with smaller sums where he considered the topic insignificant. He collected the envelopes, which he has exhibited.

Shanxi

Zhang used a Holga again for the square, colour photographs of traditional rituals surrounding the lunar new year in Shaanxi. The book Shanxi was first published by Little Big Man in the United States; Sean O'Hagan describes it as "a seductive book, a glimpse of a world of pagan custom that somehow endures against the odds, dreamlike and entrancing".[5]

Exhibitions

Awards

Publications

Publications by Zhang

Publications with contributions by Zhang

Notes

  1. http://www.zhangxiaophoto.com/Biography.asp Biography
  2. Pedro de Almeida, "A conversation with Zhang Xiao", ASX, 2013. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  3. Erik Tanner, "A record of China's changing coastlines", Time Lightbox, 12 February 2012. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  4. "Lauréats 2011", Prix HSBC pour la photographie. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  5. Sean O'Hagan, "Mythical beasts and voodoo worship: Photographing pagan rituals in China", The Guardian, 17 April 2014. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  6. http://www.miophoto.jp/archive/mio2010/20_prof.html Biography
  7. http://archive11.formatfestival.com/artists/zhang-xiao Exhibition notice
  8. http://www.miophoto.jp/archive/mio2010/20.html Exhibition notice
  9. http://www.maisonphoto.com/agenda/prix-hsbc_2011.php3 Exhibition notice
  10. http://www.blindspotgallery.com/en/exhibitions/past/they Exhibition notice
  11. http://pekinfinearts.com/exhibitions/shanxipress.pdf Exhibition notice
  12. http://ww2.sinaimg.cn/large/679ca36cjw1e9ndwx8rz6j20wt0o2jvl.jpg Exhibition notice
  13. http://www.zen-foto.jp/web/html/exhibition-current.html Exhibition notice
  14. http://www.sipf.sg/project/zhang-xiao-coastline/ Exhibition notice
  15. "Confluence: The 2010 Three Shadows Photography Award", Three Shadows Photography Art Centre. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  16. http://www.miophoto.jp/archive/mio2010/finalist.html List of finalists
  17. The edition size appears in the colophon. Boabooks' web page for Zhang Xiao 1 and Zhang Xiao 2, as it was on 14 September 2014, is available here at the Internet Archive.
  18. Actes Sud's web page for Coastline is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  19. The spine and title page say only They and "Zhang Xiao"; the colophon adds 《他们》 and 张晓. Edition size stated in the colophon. Jiazazhi Press's web page for They is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  20. Edition size stated in the front. Éditions Bessard's information about They appears within a pop-up on its top page. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  21. Title and photographer's name are given in Roman letters only. Edition size stated in the colophon. Little Big Man's web page for Shanxi is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  22. 《海岸綫》 and 張曉 on the spine and in the colophon, Coastline and "Zhang Xiao" on the front cover and in the colophon, 《海岸线》 on the title page. Edition size stated in the colophon. The publisher's web page for Coastline is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  23. Shashasha's web page for Coastline is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.

References

  1. http://www.zhangxiaophoto.com/Biography.asp Biography
  2. Pedro de Almeida, "A conversation with Zhang Xiao", ASX, 2013. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  3. Erik Tanner, "A record of China's changing coastlines", Time Lightbox, 12 February 2012. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  4. "Lauréats 2011", Prix HSBC pour la photographie. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  5. Sean O'Hagan, "Mythical beasts and voodoo worship: Photographing pagan rituals in China", The Guardian, 17 April 2014. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  6. http://www.miophoto.jp/archive/mio2010/20_prof.html Biography
  7. http://archive11.formatfestival.com/artists/zhang-xiao Exhibition notice
  8. http://www.miophoto.jp/archive/mio2010/20.html Exhibition notice
  9. http://www.maisonphoto.com/agenda/prix-hsbc_2011.php3 Exhibition notice
  10. http://www.blindspotgallery.com/en/exhibitions/past/they Exhibition notice
  11. http://pekinfinearts.com/exhibitions/shanxipress.pdf Exhibition notice
  12. http://ww2.sinaimg.cn/large/679ca36cjw1e9ndwx8rz6j20wt0o2jvl.jpg Exhibition notice
  13. http://www.zen-foto.jp/web/html/exhibition-current.html Exhibition notice
  14. http://www.sipf.sg/project/zhang-xiao-coastline/ Exhibition notice
  15. "Confluence: The 2010 Three Shadows Photography Award", Three Shadows Photography Art Centre. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  16. http://www.miophoto.jp/archive/mio2010/finalist.html List of finalists
  17. The edition size appears in the colophon. Boabooks' web page for Zhang Xiao 1 and Zhang Xiao 2, as it was on 14 September 2014, is available here at the Internet Archive.
  18. Actes Sud's web page for Coastline is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  19. The spine and title page say only They and "Zhang Xiao"; the colophon adds 《他们》 and 张晓. Edition size stated in the colophon. Jiazazhi Press's web page for They is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  20. Edition size stated in the front. Éditions Bessard's information about They appears within a pop-up on its top page. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  21. Title and photographer's name are given in Roman letters only. Edition size stated in the colophon. Little Big Man's web page for Shanxi is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  22. 《海岸綫》 and 張曉 on the spine and in the colophon, Coastline and "Zhang Xiao" on the front cover and in the colophon, 《海岸线》 on the title page. Edition size stated in the colophon. The publisher's web page for Coastline is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.
  23. Shashasha's web page for Coastline is here. Accessed 8 October 2014.

External links

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