Zhang Kechun
Born in 1980 Bazhong Sichuan
Lives in Chengdu Sichuan
Graduated in Art and Design from Chengdu Radio & TV University 2001
Photo by Zhang Kechun
Courtesy Zhang Kechun
zhangkechun.com
张克纯
1980年生于四川巴中, 现居住于四川成都
2001年毕业于成都广播电视大学艺术与设计专业
摄影张克纯
图片来自张克纯
The Yellow River
The two longest rivers in China flow from the west to the east: the Yellow River (5464km) in the north and the Yangtze River (6300km) in the south. The northern and southern civilizations have grown up around these two mighty rivers.
Zhang Kechun abandoned his designer job in Shanghai and started planning his first photography series ‘The Yellow River’ in 2009. The Chinese name of this series is 北流活活, which is a verse from the ancient collection of poetry – The Book of Odes. After one year’s research and planning, Zhang chose to start from the mouth of the Yellow River: Dongying Shandong; until to the source at Bayan Har Mountain in Qinghai.
From 2010 to 2013, there were dozens of trips, each one took Zhang about 20 days to one month. Before each departure, he searched for information about the spots where he would go and checked the landscapes on the satellite map.
Carrying his Linhof camera, tripod and folding bicycle, he followed the Yellow River through its 9 provinces: Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai. He took thousands of photographs, with the preference of the cloudy weather in fall or winter.
Initially, Zhang was influenced by the American road trip photographer Alec Soth’s series in 2004 ‘Sleeping by the Mississippi’. Zhang also wanted to photograph a world of dreams and longing. But with the fast development in China, all nature is imprinted human artefacts. And all changes so quickly that when he returned to the same spot, he never found again the same scene. Sometimes this might make him feel upset and sad about what’s happening around China.
We might compare Zhang’s work to the London-based photographer Nadav Kander’s series ‘Yangtze, The Long River’. Over three years, Kander travelled from the mouth of the Yangtze River in Shanghai to the source in the Sichuan Province. Kander’s muted-atmosphere photographs show the contrast between the rapid construction in China and the local people who still have a traditional way of living, can’t catch up on the country’s pace.
As an outsider in China, Kander must have a cultural shock and felt the confrontation. He gave his unbiased view on fast-changing China and the pitiful Chinese people, who are powerless and can do nothing about their country’s fate or their fate.
The soft and sombre palette emphasizes the mournful feel. But something is odd, ridiculous and unharmonious in the people’s existence at the background of the Yangtze River.
Come back to Zhang’s series ‘The Yellow River’, its palette is also soft, the figures are also tiny, there are also human traces left in the post-industrial landscapes. But the people in Zhang’s photographs seem to be the heroes of their life, they live with such endurance and perseverance. They are quiet, but they hold firmly the thread of life. Their achievement is insignificant, but every person is writing his history, own mythology. They are respectable and grand.
Zhang understands Chinese people because he is part of them. This is also why in the second series ‘Between the Mountains and Water’, he switched himself into the scene among the crowd and took the photographs. No matter how the country changes, he still has a profound love towards the people, the mountains and rivers.
Nevertheless, as a vast country with a long history, China’s future is always bright. The country has food for its people and the power of creation that can cultivate strong citizens. From this point of view, it seems, the future is optimistic.
