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:260x85cm edition:10 Size B:182x60cm edition:15

Wall-05, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:250x86cm edition:10 Size B:175x60cm edition:15

Wall-14, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:260x75cm edition:10 Size B:182x53cm edition:15

Wall-02, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:250x81cm edition:10 Size B:175x57cm edition:15

Wall-09, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:350x60cm edition:10 Size B:245x42cm edition:15

Wall-18 (5 pieces), Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:380x90cm edition:10 Size B:266x63cm edition:15

Wall-03, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:250x70cm edition:10 Size B:175x49cm edition:15

Wall-04, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:250x80cm edition:10 Size B:175x56cm edition:15

Wall-24, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:120x40cm edition:10 Size B:84x28cm edition:15

Wall-25, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:120x41cm edition:10 Size B:84x29cm edition:15

Wall-07, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:146x120cm edition:10 Size B:102x84cm edition:15

Wall-13, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:176x120cm edition:10 Size B:123x84cm edition:15

Wall-10, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:240x86cm edition:10 Size B:168x60cm edition:15

Wall-28, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:240x98cm edition:10 Size B:168x69cm edition:15

Wall-15, Wen Fang

C-Print Size A:360x64cm edition:10 Size B:252x45cm 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