The Patient Labourer: Zhang Kechu's First U.K Exhibition Launches at Beetles+Huxley
“I wanted to take my time,” Zhang Kechu once said in an interview with TIME magazine, “to slow down and experience every second of the moment.” His fortitude is formidable and this same respect is very visible in each photograph. Zhang Kechu produces epic vistas that dwell on the important of the land and its roots in modern Chinese national identity.
His first series The Yellow River documents the effects of modernisation along the third longest river in Asia. The project took him on a journey along the river from the coastal flats of Shandong to the mountains of Qinghai on a fold-up bicycle, all the time carrying with him a large format Linhof camera.
Zhang has been exhibited at Photoquai, Paris; the Beijing Photo Biennale and the Delhi Photo Festival, India, as one of the growing number of exciting Chinese photographers making their names known in Europe and the United States, his use of a subtle palette in conveying long-turned events—soft yellows and muted hues, are a distinctive quality.
His most famous photograph, The Yellow River, captures what is considered to be both the cradle of Chinese civilisation and the biggest threat, capable of breaking its banks at any time. The areas surrounding it have been devastated by flooding in recent years. Zhang's photographs capture the emotional impact of this on the local population with an eerily quiet atmosphere. The river constantly dwarfs the people who rely on it, rendering them vulnerable to its might. "I wanted to photograph the river respectfully", Zhang has said, "it represents the root of the nation".
His sublime views of the industrial wastelands consuming rural China are invested with both political and sociological pertinence. Whilst Zhang imbues the altered landscape of China with a tragic beauty, his photographs also are often witty, showing the frequently absurd scenarios in which the inhabitants of the river's surroundings find themselves.
Beetles and Huxley will be hosting the first UK solo exhibition of Zhang's work until May 21st
3-5 Swallow Street, London, W1B 4DE
Image credits in order of appearance:
People Crossing the Yellow River with a Photo of Mao Zedong, Henan, 2012, Zhang Kechun
Stone in the Middle of the River, 2013, Zhang Kechun
