Source: Guiyang Evening News, November 23, 2021
Zhou Yuanjie photography
At the exhibition site, Zhou Yuanjie gave a lecture for the guests
A corner of the exhibition hall
Sketch of "Zhou Yuanjie Underground Guizhou Film Exhibition"
How many secrets are there underground in the ground where we step on? Hidden in the underwater palace cave of Red Maple Lake, hidden in the underground waterfall of Longli County, hidden in the mountains of Ziyun County, the largest cave hall known to mankind... On January 18th, Zhou Yuanjie's underground Guizhou Video Exhibition opened on the third floor of the Guizhou People's Publishing House Building, with 42 photographic works bringing the beauty of darkness to people, showing a little-known underground Guizhou.
The exhibition is called "Earth Eye", inspired by the world's largest single-aperture, filled aperture (that is, full aperture with reflective surfaces) radio telescope - the Sky Eye. Curator Peng Hao introduced: "Since there is a 'heavenly eye' looking up at the starry sky, the one looking down at the ground should be called 'earth eye'. Zhou Yuanjie and his partners went deep into the heart of the earth with "earth eyes", exploring and recording step by step in the darkness.
In addition to photographic works, the exhibition also exhibits the kayaks, diving equipment, miner's lamps used by Zhou Yuanjie to explore caves, and strives to show the outdoor sport of caving in multiple dimensions. The exhibition also opened a "night mode", the exhibition hall lights are turned off, as dark as an underground cave, the audience will be handheld light source immersive viewing.
At the opening ceremony, many explorers, geologists, artists and other people from all walks of life gathered together to share their stories with the underground Guizhou and Zhou Yuanjie.
He was the explorer who knew best photography
The curator Peng Hao is an old friend of Zhou Yuanjie and has witnessed how he has grown from an outdoor white to an international professional diving instructor and a paraglider pilot of the China Aviation Sports Association (ASFC).
10 years ago, Zhou Yuanjie was a photojournalist at Guiyang Daily, and he became acquainted with Peng Hao during an interview. Peng Hao felt that Zhou Yuanjie had a pair of clear eyes, and paid special attention to this future life. "The studious Zhou Yuanjie made rapid progress, and became a rookie in Guizhou photojournalism in less than two years after entering the industry."
Eight years ago, during an interview mission, Zhou Yuanjie was exposed to caving exploration, full of unknown underground worlds fascinating, since then he began to learn outdoor caving, diving expeditions, underground photography. At first, he became the best photojournalist in Guiyang who knew about outdoor adventures, but then simply quit his job and became the explorer who knew the most about photography.
The 42 photos on display are selected from more than 50,000 massive stocks, and are all classics in the guizhou native caves that Zhou Yuanjie has visited in the past 8 years. Among them, there are panda-like nebulae in the underground sky of Lao Fat Village in Gaofeng Town; there is the super stalagmite "Optimus Prime" in the Miao Hall, the largest cave hall known to mankind. Because the Optimus Prime was so huge, when Zhou Yuanjie first passed by it, he mistakenly thought it was a mountain. There is also the Mermaid Palace in Qingzhen, under the emerald-colored water, a stalactite is like a flowing hourglass...
Zhou Wenlong, deputy secretary-general of the Cave Committee of the Geological Society of China, found traces of ancient underground rivers in the images of panda caves taken by Zhou Yuanjie, and those concave surfaces that resemble panda eyes can also determine the flow of rivers if they are professionally surveyed. One of the pictures that most moved Zhou Wenlong was "Stalagmites Growing" taken in He Jiaodong, Suiyang County, Zunyi. Zhou Yuanjie used a macro camera to capture the moment when the water droplets came into contact with stalagmites, and the extremely small splashes were as explosive as bullets and as brilliant as fireworks, and in the eyes of geologists, this was the moment when it took thousands of years to form a geological landscape
He and the "brothers" went crazy for the adventure
In these photographs of geological wonders, there will always be a figure of someone, so small in the vast underground world. Zhou Yunjie introduced that from a professional point of view, people are the yardstick for judging the size of the things around them, and as far as he is concerned, these teammates who explore the cave together are the protagonists.
In order to present the closest to the real underground world, they have undergone rigorous training together, with countless drills and comprehensive countermeasures against extreme environments and accidents that occur at any time. In the dark cave, in the cold water, they faced the unknown again and again, overcame all difficulties, and placed the lights in the right place before bringing the "underground Guizhou" to the ground.
"No brothers, no adventures. He who has no clothes, but who is clothed with the Son. "Sharing meeting Last week, Yuan Jie solemnly introduced the friends who went on an expedition with him. Many of them are "post-90s" and "post-95s", their hands have been in contact with rocks for a long time, their bones and joints have become thick, their hands often have cracked openings or frostbitten scabs, and the skin of their palms is as rough as a sand cloth, but all this cannot stop their love for caves.
At the exhibition site, when asked why he wanted to explore the cave, Zhou Yuanjie replied: "Because, I want to know what the end of the endless abyss looks like." And why I want to hold the exhibition "Di Yan" is because "my hometown, Guizhou, is the kingdom of caves." ”
It is reported that the exhibition will be on display until December 12.
Live communication
Exhibition Director and Founder of Yuanchong Culture Li Hao:
We often say that from darkness to light, but how many people in this world are willing to go from light to darkness. Zhou Yuanjie is definitely one of them, he is the one who brings beauty from darkness to light.
Peng Bo, Director of the Department of New Media, College of Fine Arts, Guizhou Normal University, Chairman of guizhou Photographers Association:
At a time when photography is becoming more and more convenient, more people's understanding of photography is still stuck in the surface of chasing light and shadow, recording life, and few people have done photography more deeply. The first time I saw Yuan Jie's work, I felt very shocked, photography is not only a simple record, but also needs to use the experience of life to understand, and then pass on this feeling through images.
Zhou Wenlong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Cave Committee of the Geological Society of China and Deputy Secretary-General of the Guizhou Cave Association:
For us science and technology workers, there are many small details in Yuanjie's photos that are worth playing. For example, many of the small landscapes mentioned by Yuan Jie and the large landscapes are combined, and it is possible to speculate on the cause of the cave. Therefore, Yuan Jie's photographic works are of academic value.
Andy Yang, Director of the Photography Department of the School of Art, Guizhou University:
Yuan Jie is a photographer with great potential and will be known to more people in the future. The first time I watched Yuan Jie's work, I was struck by the jewel-like water surface, and the boat floating on such a water surface was a completely surreal picture, which was very attractive. There is a strong artistry in Yuanjie's works, which is inseparable from his artistic accomplishment and his yearning for beauty.
Guiyang Daily Rong media reporter Dong Rongyu