Photographs

This paper discusses the idea of ‘globalisation’ bringing tension between the ‘west and east’, the native Chinese vs the western influences.

To understand the depth of western influences into the Chinese culture we have to focus on the product market, notion of global culture and cultural hybridities; which derive from the western presence in China through out history.

·      Chinese Ceramics were influenced by the Roman and Parthian Empires by incorporating metal designs into the ceramics during the 1^st Century Ceramics reached and merged with the Eastern and Western cultures throughout the 7^th to the 10^th Century Around the 16^th-17^th century, the Chinese porcelain had an immense impact on the European Ceramic culture

Shanghai based photographer Hu Yang’s Shanghai Renjia (shanghai living) explores the hybrid state of the interiors (living spaces) by showing photographs of the subjects with their own choices of architectural details, fabrics and clothing which give us an insight of the complexity of shanghai. He documented conditions and industrialisation affecting the working class, and urbanisation of the rural life.

As Professor Lin Lu of Shanghai Normal University writes: These images open a door. As we enter in?whether we walk into a living room, pass through a study, enter a bedroom, or directly look upon a small empty space?we can see the brilliant diversity of the people of Shanghai. We can see that uniquely Shanghainese attitude toward life.... After you read these photos, perhaps you will have a better understanding of Shanghai.

Hu Yang, himself, supports this view of his work, stating in an interview with Meng Tao, editor of Chinese Photography: I wanted to capture the natural flow of the lives of the people of Shanghai. Therefore, when I was shooting, I did not approach it from the standpoint of an artist: instead, I observed with a historical or a sociological perspective. If I had photographed from the position of an artist, then I would have produced subjective photographs. What I wanted was not fine art photography. Rather, I wanted a visual documentary of the people currently living in Shanghai.2

In the photographs taken by Hu Yang, the history, culture and arts of the past are lingering and creating a physical world in the present. The transition from calligraphy, ceramics and antiquity to the modern contemporary world is very apparent; which are a reflection of the strong bond between the people in the present and china’s past.

Furthermore; we learn that keeping heritage and history alive is not only through possessions and decorating, specially when it becomes more about the colour and shades matching rather than the importance or significance of the actual objects. Heritage can be kept alive by activities, interests and by keeping up a certain life style.