Photographer Zhang Xiao
Zhang Xiao compiled his latest series of photographs—“They”—over three years of working as a photojournalist in Chongqing, snapping locals with a low-tech camera and expired film. The collection, which contemplates the everyday lives of people living through one of the world’s most extreme examples of urbanization, won the 2010 Three Shadows Photography Award and is now in Hong Kong as Zhang’s second solo exhibition. He sat down with Sean Hebert to discuss his artistic approach, his unusual camera and the response his exhibition has received.
HK Magazine: Rapid development and urbanization is a theme in your work, and Chongqing is an extreme example of what’s happening all over China. Would you call your work activist?
Zhang Xiao: I take an objective perspective in my work, and don’t try to be an activist or promote anything. I am more interested in the audience drawing their own conclusions. When I take a photo, it takes on its own meaning depending on who sees it.
HK: You’ve said that the subjects in your photographs appear bizarre and absurd as they go about their daily lives. Why is that?
ZX: All over China we see this rapid development, and some people struggle mentally to catch up with the pace of society. I would sometimes see people on the streets who have no idea what they are doing, almost as if in a performance state. There are also a lot of people in China who don’t work, and just do nothing. People don’t have the ability to find a job because they are from the countryside and they have to go somewhere like a construction site to work, but it’s really hard to get employed. There’s lots of competition. So I get the opportunity to photograph people who have a lot of free time on their hands, and will dress up and perform. I don’t think you see this in Hong Kong, because everyone is so busy. There are no people here doing nothing.
HK: You chose to photograph your scenes using a low-tech camera and expired film. What effect did this have on the composition?
ZX: I wanted to use a 120mm camera to take photographs but I had just graduated from university so I couldn’t afford such an expensive camera. Instead, I opted for the cheaper [HK-made, plastic] Holga. I liked using it because the Holga camera is so small, so it was convenient to carry around and people wouldn’t know when I was taking their photo. It helped to capture more natural emotions. As for the expired film, I feel like when used with a low tech camera it expresses things more directly, and is more unexpected for the viewer. The subjects contrast more and pop out of the scene. With expired film you also can’t control the lighting, so I didn’t have to think as much. I just took the photos. It was spontaneous.
