Zhe Zhu - Wind and Water

Wind and Water is a project shot in China near the Yangtze River and its tributaries. A journey to to trace the origin of the water the I used everyday and discover contemporary China as well as my identity as Chinese. I travelled from a small city Yibing in Sichuan province, where Jinsha River and Min River interchange into the Long River to Shanghai, where Yangtze ends. The project is documented with a loose narrative to show how the the environment along the river was altered. Including images of small river towns and big cities, as well as scenes such as people swimming next to the old boat. Boring everyday life and cheap solution for leisure. These images in big empty landscape show the solitude of us, as well as how tiny we are compare to nature. For instance, in one photo called Swimmers, there’s a tiny people figure in the middle of the empty river. When the viewer look closer one can see the sad face of this man. He is also looking outside of the frame. This image represents what I felt about growing up in China. Living in a cities with millions of people yet I still felt lonely. This sense of lost and melancholy is also something I want to express through my work.