New Mountain and Water, Yao Lu's photography

Yao Lu New Mountain and Water

Dwelling in the Mount Fuchun, 2008

Passing spring at the Ancient Dock, 2006

Mount Zhong in the Mist, 2006

Mountain Pasture with Floating Clouds, 2007

Mountains and Streams through Autumn Mist, 2007

Snow Cleansed Riverside Village, 2007

View of Waterfall with Rocks and Pines, 2007

Spring in the City, 2007

Confluence of Rivers in the Shelter of Trees, 2007

Fishing Boats Berthed by the Mount Yu, 2008

Artist statement

Generally speaking, my works use the form of traditional Chinese painting to express the face of China. Today, China is developing dramatically and many things are under constant construction. Many things have disappeared and continue to disappear. The rubbish dumps covered with the ‘shield’, a green netting, are a ubiquitous phenomenon in China.

I want the world to be able to make a benign transformation. People must protect the environment. This work implies that the world should become more and more harmonious.

Photography can be understood in traditional ways: It can ‘record’ many histories long before our own time, and it can take people back to times and situations many years ago. But photography is also very contemporary. It can re-assemble and re-edit the things that we see in order to produce illusions that people see when they are in front of such photographic works. In these works, you see images that are both real and fictional.

Concerning the style of my works, I believe in maintaining a beautiful feeling in the framing of the image, including composition, line, density and framing, all the elements regularly contained in painting. I think a good artwork is composed of many elements, and it should reflect the knowledge and the skill of the artist. A good artwork has intelligence.

The flexibility of photography provides an expressive space for me. I can work with it in many ways in making my creations.

About the photographer

Born

1967 Beijing, China

Nationality

Chinese

Based in

Beijing, China

About Yao Lu

Yao Lu was born in 1967 and educated at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. He lives and works in Beijing, and is currently Associate Professor at the Academy.

Selected Exhibitions:

  • Paris Photo (Paris, France), 2008
  • Then & Now; Memories of the Future, Daegu Photo Biennale, Daegu, Korea, 2008
  • The Post; Modern Mode of Chinese Contemporary Art, Shenzhen, China, 2008
  • Made In China, Fotofestival 2008, Lodz, Poland, 2008
  • Lianzhou International Photo Festival, China, 2007
  • Sightseeing, A9 Art Gallery Beijing, China, 2007
  • Absence Exhibition, Beijing, China, 2007
  • Glory and Records 567, Art Exhibition, Beijing-Berlin-Paris-Belgium, 2007
  • Yesterday, SuoLuo Gallery, Beijing, China, 2007
  • Aberrance of Chinese Character, Chinese Base, Beijing, China, 2007