Wang Shilong 王世龙 (born in 1930 in Henan province) served in the Propaganda Department of the Peoples Liberation Army as photographer and oil painter between 1948 and 1950. Then he became a photojournalist for local newspapers and travelled through Central China for more than thirty years. This allowed him to document political, economical and social significant transformations that occurred during Mao era. His black and white photographs give an insightful glimpse into the way official photographers worked under communist rules, by notably depicting smiling workers, revolutionary operas, and pro-communist demonstrations among others. Yet the expressionist quality increases the staging effect of his photographs, rendering them even more grandiose and powerful.
