Wen Fang

Walls

    In France, I studied photography. And if many consider it and appreciate it as a representation of reality, in my view, it is not enough. I never liked the saying « I only believe in what I see » ; many are the truths that can appear after we close our eyes…

    One day, as I was walking with a friend inside the Forbidden City, I stopped in front of an old worn down wall. It was a revelation. I stayed crouching there for a long time before this wall, imagining its history… I then recalled the Buddhist saying : « A grain of sand is a world, a speck of dust is a dynasty », and suddenly realised the importance of this wall. It was opening for me a door to this world, a door to infinity…

    From this day on and for two winters, I wandered across Beijing, alone, looking for old walls to photograph. From Gulou to Houhai, from Qianmen to Tianqiao, wearing a quilted coat and under the curious eyes of passer-bys, I photographed these broken-down neighbourhoods… « What on earth could there be to photograph here ? » I often heard. This voice could be that of an old man who had been living for countless years behind the wall I was photographing.

    After an environment has become too familiar, are we still able to perceive it in all its beauty ?

    I showed these photographs to a scholar,

              He found in them the fabulous tales and the mythical animals of ancient Chinese calligraphy.

    I showed these photographs to an architect,

              He saw in them the ancestral techniques and the beauty of old buildings.

    I showed these photographs to a recycler,

              He counted the materials to retrieve and the imaginable profit.

    As for me, what I saw in them was myself.

    What about you, what do you see ?

Wall-01, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 80x260cm edition: 10 Size B: 60x182cm edition: 15

Wall-05, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 250x86cm edition: 10 Size B: 60x175cm edition: 15

Wall-14, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 75x260cm edition: 10 Size B: 53x182cm edition: 15

Wall-02, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 81x250cm edition: 10 Size B: 57x175cm edition: 15

Wall-09, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 60x350cm edition: 10 Size B: 42x245cm edition: 15

Wall-18 (5 pieces), Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 90x380cm edition: 10 Size B: 63x266cm edition: 15

Wall-03, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 70x250cm edition: 10 Size B: 49x175cm edition: 15

Wall-04, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 80x250cm edition: 10 Size B: 56x175cm edition: 15

Wall-24, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 40x120cm edition: 10 Size B: 28x84cm edition: 15

Wall-25, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 41x120cm edition: 10 Size B: 29x84cm edition: 15

Wall-07, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 120x146cm edition: 10 Size B: 84x102cm edition: 15

Wall-13, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 120x176cm edition: 10 Size B: 84x123cm edition: 15

Wall-10, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 86x240cm edition: 10 Size B: 60x168cm edition: 15

Wall-28, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 98x240cm edition: 10 Size B: 69x168cm edition: 15

Wall-15, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 64x360cm edition: 10 Size B: 45x252cm edition: 15

Wall-30 (Diptych), Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 100x150cm x 2 edition: 6 Size B: 67x80cm x 2 edition: 12

Wall-31, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 104x150cm edition: 6 Size B: 73x105cm edition: 12

Wall-32, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 150x140cm edition: 6 Size B: 105x98cm edition: 12

Wall-33, Wen Fang (Diptych)

C-Print Size A: 150x84cm x 2 edition: 6 Size B: 100x59cm x 2 edition: 12

Wall-34, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A: 150x100cm edition: 6 Size B: 105x70cm edition: 12