Shanghai Living

For over a year, Hu Yang photographed and interviewed 500 local, migrant and foreign families living in Shanghai, from billionaires to the poor.

“I’m leading an irregular life and believe disorder inspires my creation. I like composing poems or lying in bed staring blankly. Staring blankly helps me to fancy and relax.”

Zhao Ke (Hunanese, Musician)

” (…) For the last few decades I’ve collected a room of books, picure albums and articles about boats. I traveled along the seaside cities in China for my collection and got caught by te police in Xiamen, Fujian Province, in 1964, with an accuse of being a spy of America, I was accused of being a trator and spend two years in Baimaoling Mountain of Anhui Province for reformation. I make a linging by paper-cutting. My wife left me five years ago and I don’t have children. I shut myself at hme when she left me (…) I have no one to talk to and sometimes I shout or sing loudly at home in order not to lose my language fundtion. I’m not rich but spiritually satisfied. I won’t sell my collections even if someone pays me 5000’000 Yuan. I can’t live without them. Worry about one things, that is, what I’m going to do when I’m to old for paper-cutting.”

Yang Haidi (Shanghainese, Paper-cut Handicratsman)

His work is on exhibition at the ShanghART H-Space Gallery through the 30th of October, but many images, with quotes from the subject(s), can be viewed online:

Got Thoughts?

By all means share them, and start the conversation.

Leave Your Own Comment

You can follow any responses to this entry via its RSS comments feed. You can also leave a trackback if the inclination is there.

If you're looking for something specific then give the search form below a try:

Justin Ruckman