VC.C-PL.1.2008
Beijing - Placards, 2007
In the city of Beijing there is a proliferation of large colorful placards that are intended to conceal existing buildings and new building sites and that serve as a partition between them and the street. The images appearing on the placards portray attractive and intriguing landscapes from regions in the world outside China as well as local scenes and sites illustrating a progressively new modern world.
In my photographs the placards serve as the backdrop, the street is the stage, and passers-by are the actors. This mise-en-scène presents locals walking through widely varied scenery along the streets of their own hometown.
The juxtaposition of the placards and the people creates a perceptible contrast between firm and abiding actuality and images of fantasies imported into a Beijing under transformation.
