The Caochangdi Photospring Festival is celebrating its third edition this year. Half of the festival has now passed, how did it turn out so far?
It is hard to tell right now, but anyway the audience’s loyalty to the festival is great. We noticed many people coming from the photography world from the whole China. It is really nice to see that people love photography and that they consider Caochangdi Photospring as an important moment in photography. In three days, there are already highlights of this edition and they apparently have been appreciated for people are happy with both the exhibitions and the events. The atmosphere is similar to last year, in other words quite friendly. Then this year has slightly changed inasmuch as the venues are spread out across the whole town. In truth for the next years we will centralize again because Beijing is big, it is not a small village like Pingyao or Lianzhou; hence it is not convenient for people who come only three days.
Is there a specific guideline for the festival this year?
We always follow a guideline yet we do not want to have a specific theme. Our main guideline is Photospring, in other words springtime. Unlike many festivals, we have chosen to avoid themes because it is too constraining, everything can be related as nothing can be related. During four years, I organised a contemporary art festival in 798, which name was the DIAF. Each year we had a good theme, but it is hard to create a large-scale festival in that case. It concerns only small exhibitions, few events, then it is easy to associate them with the main theme.
When you look at this year program, you remark that a certain amount of exhibitions evoke the themes of commonness and poverty. For instance, Stefen Chow’s Poverty Line is very good. He deliberately used almost rotten pieces of paper, the venue is the same, because the point is not to have photographic quality but to repeat the theme of poverty, and what people can buy according to this poverty line. There is as well Camden created by Jean-Christian Bourcart, series which shows people on the margins of society in one of the most dangerous city in the United-States. It makes us think about China and its “two languages” and “two systems” because of the coexistence of extreme poverty and extreme wealth, but as a matter of fact the same situation happens as well in the United-States. I think it is an important reminder. All these things in the end helped us to realise that there was a guideline. But we did not chose to focus specifically on such themes, first of all because it is not very attractive, and second because it would have left behind some exhibitions; it would have been absurd.
Among the young photographers that the Three Shadows Photography Art Center has selected for its award, is there any one that caught your attention?
Among the young photographers, I like very much the photographs of air hostess {created by Wang Lin}. The photographer is a young women who created this series both in colour and in black and white, but I prefer the black and white one, it is more classic yet more powerful. I also like the body tattoos series {created by Geng Yi}. Although it is not that new, yet the personal dimension of these people is quite interesting. When I was in Mexico I saw similar photographs of tattooed people, who live as outsiders, there are king in their skin.
Photography is now remarkably democratized, how about the Chinese art market? Is it gradually opening its doors to photography?
Yes but hardly. It is starting but needs more time. Chinese collectors are predominantly interested in old or historical photographs related to their own heritage; there is notably a keen interest in whatever is related to Mao Zedong. At the moment, auction houses do not sell contemporary photography; you need to go to galleries to find it. However, Chinese collectors go first to auction houses.
The 80s mark a watershed in the history of photography in China. However early- twentieth-century pictorial photography and 50s socialist photography seem to have sown the seed of contemporary visuality. To what extend this practice of referencing is still up-to-date nowadays?
I would say today’s photographers draw their inspiration mainly from foreign photographers and not from their own history, even if many Chinese have nationalist feelings, it is almost natural, their education conditioned them such a way. But regarding history and photography as embarking points, they prefer to look at what happened abroad. I think they have little knowledge of what happened in the 80s or the 90s because of the lack of opportunity for learning properly the history of photography; it is gradually improving now.
In addition, this young generation of photographer is greatly attracted to visual art, to aesthetic principles; in that sense they are fairly close to many artists even though they remain photographers. In the big picture, their artworks are closer to plastic arts rather than pure photography. It is true that 80s and 90s photographers proceed from a specific type of photography, which is documentary photography. In China, such photographers are either independents or belong to one of the various associations that exist in China. Those are not committed to plastician photography. Consequently, there is a dichotomy between the old and the new generation, between documentary photography and plastician photography. Some photographers emerge as documentary ones, but they remain quite a few. The Three Shadow’s winner for example proceeds from this documentary generation, although he mingles document with aesthetics.
In one of your latest interviews, you say: “I think there are specificities but not enough to compose a group of creation that would be labelled ‘Chinese photography’”. This argument seems consistent with the idea to rather talk about ‘photography of China’ than ‘Chinese photography’; which means including all photographers regardless their nationality as long as they possess an insightful vision of China. What do you think about such approach?
We even can say ‘photography of ChinaS’ with an ‘s’. I think that since the twentieth-century onwards, we have tried categorising, giving names, putting everything in boxes. Why not, it easier, more practical, and stimulating. As an example, in 798 we used the word ‘Bahaus’ in order to found a space and encourage the masses. It was a kindof brand identity. Nevertheless, it is very hard to break free from this. What does it mean to be a Chinese photographer in a world in which we are all connected to the internet, in which we all possess VPN so that to avoid censorship and see the same images. Needless to say that locality is yet important; I do not deny this. On the contrary, I think each of them has his own universe which is important to preserve, to enrich in a creative manner. For me, it is very difficult to say ‘Chinese photography’.
However if I have to point out Chinese specificities, I would say they are not afraid. Around the year 2000, there was almost no photography. Now, many young people choose this medium, one of the youngest photographers this year is only 16. I am not sure French young generation would dare to do such a thing. This society gives at the same time vigor, but also dangers in going too fast, in never challenging oneself because you pretend to be the best. This danger yet remains exciting at the beginning. Chinese photographers dare to alter their material, to scratch their photographs, to come in here so that to attend courses and ask questions. There is a real curiosity that helps perhaps individuals to make career plans, I am not sure, yet it is very exciting to see all these young people completely involvedin photography.
You recently said that there is a multiplication of genres in Chinese contemporary photography. Nevertheless, do you think there are recurrent thematic? We know for instance many explored ruins these past few years.
I was talking about Danshanzi in Arles {exhibition set up by Bérénice Angrémy in the French city of Arles in 2007} in which we indeed used demolition as a theme. It was not only ruins but demolition, the destruction and its effects. I think this theme is slightly out-of-date, it is still existing but less virulent.
I have noticed that some photographers emphasis on their personal universe again. This kind of photography can take the skin as a subject matter, it remains very introspected and corresponds to this selfish generation of the one-child policy. Hence one of the hot theme might be the self. During the 90s this theme was also popular, but the last few years brought new dimensions: playfulness and humour.
Do you have future projects?
Yes of course, in China as well as abroad. But I prefer to keep them secret as long as nothing is entirely sure.
