Zeng Yi

Zeng YI was born in 1949 in Jinan, Shandong, China. He is the general director of the Museum of Shandong College of Art and Design, the director of the East Gallery of Modern Art, and the chairman of the Photographers' Association, Jinan. Zeng Yi is the author of many national and international solo art photography exhibitions. In addition to the exhibitions, it has been awarded the "Asian Culture Award" by UNESCO. Yi has a well-known contribution as a curator of several exhibitions such as: Exhibition of Picasso's works in Beijing; Confucius Culture Exhibition; Jinan International Photography Competition and Biennale of Contemporary Photography.

Anthropological China
Photograph, (10) 33.5 x 23.2 cm secila, 1982-2016

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The conceptual approach:

Yi's photographic lens transforms the faces of curious little residents and elderly workers marked by weariness and the passage of time into a narrative subject of Chinese society, image after image unfolding scenes full of narrative and poignant drama. A cycle of photographs, looking beyond China's political and economic fortunes. In these pictures, the Chinese human revolution appears in all its meaning, which thanks to the sensitivity and perseverance of Zeng Yi, managed to penetrate and become known throughout the world. This, leaving aside the grandeur of political images and documenting over the decades the subtle and complicated dynamics of an epochal alienation that Chinese society has suffered over the years. The scenes in these photographs are so unshouting that they seem to beg any visitor in front of them to immerse themselves in a world that seems far away, but so close to our own that it's hard to let go of those lingering gazes. on photographs printed on paper.