What kind of "Shanghai photo album" did you put together? 22 writers opened the "blind box" of 22 photographers. Photographer | Xu Xin | Writer
"Water stains are compatible with natural morning dew and night rain, as well as the diligent cleaning by humans. Wet clothes emitting the smell of laundry detergent, obedient to gravity, temporarily free from human confinement, suspended in society. It is so happy to hang them on the rooftop..." The writer wrote this passage after receiving a photo of the rooftop taken by photographer Xu Xin. "The rooftop and the skyline of Pudong that can be seen from it have a strong sense of story. The rooftop is a wonderful space that has played a crucial role in the lives of several generations of Shanghai locals. Children and the elderly play and rest on the rooftop, plant flowers and grass, and hang clothes, making it an irreplaceable space." At the "Shanghai Album: Disappearance and Love" sharing event held by Sinan Book Company, he said.
Photography: Xu Xin
So, Xu Xin's collaboration on "Tiantai Zao Cheng Ji" was the first group of works included in "Shanghai Album: Disappearance and Love". This book collects 22 sets of urban image works from 22 photographers and more expansive expressions from 22 writers, becoming a faithful and warm record of the city of Shanghai. Writers and photographers delve into the lives of ordinary people in the streets, alleys, and depths of the city, capturing the unique lifestyle and urban atmosphere of Shanghai, and viewing how this huge city revolves from a more three-dimensional perspective. The two initiators of the project, Xu Haifeng, the photography director of the Pengpai News Visual Center, and Lv Zheng, the vice president of the Sprout magazine, said that the development of "Shanghai Photo Album" is based on creative practice, and creators have a common understanding of the city. To express this understanding, both images and text are needed.
It is interesting that when matching images with text, the photos received by the text author are concealed from the photographer's identity and experience information. "It's a bit like opening a blind box," Lv Zheng said, hoping that this playful way allows writers not to be influenced by things outside of the image, not limited by the photographer's personal experience or artistic views. "It's not an art review of photos, but rather using photos as inspiration or creative starting point to see where they will eventually go."
"My initial idea for taking this series of photos was to document the changes in this city. Although disappearance is always sad, urban change is a cyclical activity with a lifecycle, just like metabolism, so I want to record it more objectively," said Xu Xin.
"How to write about Shanghai is a difficult problem for me, and this' blind writing 'process provides a good idea. Photography provides a way of viewing, what I see is actually what the photographer sees, what I think of is what I think of myself, and there are differences and multidimensional changes in it. The objects who read text and see photos may be different, and the readers who see text and photos are also different situations. The theme of Shanghai gradually unfolded in this process." So he said.
"At the beginning, we wanted to give this book a position. The editing team discussed whether the 'shelf proposal' should be written in the category of photography or literature or others. Later, it was found that it was difficult to define this book. If it was a photography book, its opening version was not an ordinary photo album, and the photos included were not of large size. It was not a purely literary book, and the 22 works were also relatively diverse in style. Therefore, later, we were more willing to position it as a book about urban anthropology and urban memory, leaving the track of urban change with words and images." Yang Ting, the publisher and deputy chief editor of Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, shared that after the publication of Shanghai Photo Album: Vanishing and Yearning, she I noticed that some netizens left messages that there were not many photos of Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Lujiazui "Three Piece Set" that "people all over the country think of Shanghai" in this book, but many photos of "Shanghai not much like Shanghai".
As an editor, Yang Ting feels that the images and texts in the "Shanghai Album" have an ambiguous relationship. It is not just a simple picture explanation or drawing from pictures, but rather a kind of empathy. Text and photos can exist independently, but if the combination order is changed, it will feel obvious that they do not match. At the same time, in terms of age, the average age of 22 photographers is slightly longer, with many photos taken 10 or 20 years ago or even earlier, while writers are younger, including those born in the 1980s, 1985, and even 1990s. The generation gap that may form in narratives also constitutes a level of intentional flavor.
"Mengya is a youth literature publication, and our authors and readers are relatively young. Urban development is rapid, and several generations will experience different urban experiences, even a superimposed state. From Mao Dun to Wang Anyi and Jin Yucheng, generations of writers have been completing their own writing on Shanghai, and it is indeed the turn of the younger generation. The writers of the younger generation are complex and diverse, some are Shanghai natives, some work in Shanghai for a long time, and some come to Shanghai for travel. The forward-looking aspect of this project is to provide more opportunities for young people to write about Shanghai." Lv Zheng said.
"In the era of short videos and streaming media, the public is no longer satisfied with simple pictures or text descriptions. Many internet famous landmarks in Shanghai often have people dressed up beautifully and walking in the landscape. How do you view this phenomenon?" A reader below asked.
"Many people hope to record this city, and there are also many people who hope to be recorded by this city." Xu Xin's answer is "Let nature take its course.". "A while ago, someone on Bilibili uploaded videos of Shanghai from around 1993 to 1995. That person was shooting with a family DV everywhere. Perhaps at that time, some people also thought that shooting these things was meaningful. These images were very shaking, and the language of the camera was not professional. The images realistically reproduced the state of Shanghai at that time, and suddenly became popular. A few years later, some people may also think that the current 'street photography' showcases the spiritual outlook and dressing state of Shanghai people in this era, which is very interesting."
