Shao Shao is clearly and firmly expressing his own belief. Shao Shao’s photographs are narrative, but the objects seem to come from his mind, naturally not so direct. His works narrate another aspect and consideration, applying much internal pondering: “My photographs contain many elements from religions which do not simply mean a specific religion but the belief itself. That’s why I pay closer attention to belief, which can be intimacy or a sort of ideal and aim. What I focus on is how belief plays its role in people’s life nowadays.” It belongs to a sort of deliberate narration, which tells the author’s philosophy and the relationship between space and time and describs the author’s insight for life and longing for deep sympathy.
Chen Nong has created ‘Dragon Bridge’ this fascinating fairyland, based on the bridges in Luzhou, Sichuan province. At the same time he has also set up a narrative base and an aesthetic direction. ‘Dragon Bridge’ shows almost the same technique with Chen Nong’s earlier works ‘Here’ and ‘Yellow River’, but the change is obvious and certain. Compared with the description of dramatic historic events before, ‘Dragon Bridge’ undoubtedly obtains the most essential understanding of agrarian society and rural life, concerning cultivation and harvest, individual and group, people and fields and rivers…
When photography tends to get away from narration, Chen Nong and Shao Shao insist in using narration but not simply and directly applying the elements of images. In my critical frame, the real narration shall be a method of creation that can constitute scenes, plots, relations and associations without delicate descriptions.
- Extracted from Fan Lin ‘Finally, Comes The Narration’
