Capturing Changshu's old town before it's gone
Jiangnan region, in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, has for centuries been depicted in a romantic, classic and poetic manner. However, photographer Ding Feng's ongoing exhibition "Jiangnan" at M50 Art Park casts light on another side of the region, which is worldly, realistic and thought-provoking.
Based in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, Ding focuses his camera on the city's old district that is being renovated or removed during the city's urban transformation. He dispels Jiangnan's stereotype – a classic cultural image of pastoral elegance – and finds his own way to bring out a more detailed, harsher Jiangnan with a stronger flavor of real life.
What Ding presents in his pictures is everyday life in the city's old section – a man snoring in a bamboo chair in a narrow, dilapidating lane, a broken plastic doll abandoned in a trash bin and stray cats searching for food in debris.
Though the old houses and lanes will disappear one day, they're still full of tenacious vitality with residents who have strongly adapted to the environment.
The city's new commercial business district is emerging, and the old district is lurching toward the forgotten past. But Ding is probably trying to tell us old things were once new, and new things will also be old one day. He is not nostalgic. He has a strong sense of history.
Ding unveils the hidden side of a modern city in Changshu. This neglected side is made up of trivial and even messy scenes, which would not appear on the city's tourism map. Jiangnan looks no longer elegant or poetic. It's uncomfortable and ironic, but it's real ... to some extent.
Ding Feng focuses his camera on Changshu's old district.
Exhibition info
Dates: Through July 20 (closed on Mondays), 10am-6pm
Venue: Ruipin Gallery
Address: M50 Art Park, 4C-107, 50 Moganshan Road
