Jimei Arles International Photography Season opens this Friday

Works by French New Wave photographer Raymond Cochettier. (Courtesy of Jimei Arles International Photography Festival Organizers)

Reporter Ying Jie correspondent Chen Yan of this newspaper

Stationed in Wuhan for 66 days at the height of the epidemic, taking portraits of 42,000 medical workers across the country one by one, recording the "most beautiful face" hidden behind masks – in February this year, Li Ye, chairman of the China Photographers Association and People's Daily photojournalist, participated in a "special mission", and his team and nearly 200 photographers risked traveling to major hospitals in Wuhan to leave a precious "national image archive". This group of photographs with strong visual impact and emotional shock will be unveiled at this year's Jimei Arles International Photography Season.

This Friday, the annual Jimei Arles International Photography Season will be held in Xiamen as scheduled, dancing with the "Golden Rooster" to present a high-level artistic feast for the public audience. Yesterday, the Jimei District Government held a press conference to introduce the preparations for the 2020 Jimei Arles International Photography Season.

Affected by the epidemic, the Arles International Photography Festival in France was suspended this year, and the wonderful exhibition of "Arles of the Year", which was originally planned to be exhibited in France, will make its debut in China. As Gu Zheng, artistic director of this year's photography season and professor at the School of Journalism of Fudan University, said, the holding of this photography season in China as scheduled is "the expression of human indomitable will through photography." ”

【Highlights】

Centenarian photographers will bring the best of French New Wave photography

When it comes to French New Wave films, many people think of works such as Zu and Zhan. In this year's "Arles of the Year" section, we will see the work of Raymond Cochettier, the set photographer of Zu & Cham and the most important photographer of the French Film New Wave. Raymond Kochettier's reinvention of set photography highlights the bold attempts on imagery in the New Wave movement. This year marks the 100th birthday of the heavyweight photographer, and the exhibition will feature both well-known photographs of the film and some previously undiscovered works, which are well worth a look.

It is reported that including 6 "Annual Arles" exhibition units known as "Heart's Choice", this year's photography season will bring 26 exhibitions, exhibiting a total of about 2,000 photographic works, video installations, video publications, and participating artists from China, France, Belgium, Singapore, Lithuania, the United States, Japan, etc.

The artist "crosses over" to present the charm of photography

This year is the 6th year of the Jimei Arles International Photography Festival, the most important event in the photography industry, while highlighting the international and academic nature, it also continues to strengthen its local connection with China and Xiamen, and "let art shine into reality" to have emotional resonance and connection with more ordinary audiences.

"Crossover" is a major feature of this year's photography season. For example, Qin Hao, a musician and lead singer of the band "Good Sister", will participate in the exhibition as a photographer, bringing his emotional observations and records in his hometown of Chongqing. Chen Wenling, a famous sculpture artist from Fujian, also transformed into a photographer during the epidemic prevention and control period, "taking his bald head as an exhibition hall" to create a series of "brain-opening" works in his hometown of Quanzhou, releasing artistic vitality with free creation and retrieving the spiritual connection with his hometown and childhood.

Singapore's pioneering painters took hokkien images more than 90 years ago

The film season will also feature old photographs of Fujian taken by Singapore's pioneering painter Liu Kang around 1928. Born in Yongchun in 1911, Liu Kang moved to Nanyang with his parents at the age of 6 and came to Shanghai from Nanyang in 1926 to attend high school.

It is worth mentioning that Liu Kang's son, Liu Taige, known as the "father of Singapore's urban planning", also has an indissoluble relationship with Xiamen. Yesterday, Liu Taige congratulated the exhibition through remote video, saying that it is of great significance to us that his father's works can "return to his hometown".

【Exhibition Information】

2020 May Arles International Photography Season

●Organizers: Three Shadows Photography Art Center, Xiamen Tianxia Jimei Wenguang Media Co., Ltd

●Supporting units: Xiamen Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd., Industrial Bank Co., Ltd. Xiamen Branch, China Construction Bank Xiamen Branch, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Xiamen Branch, China Everbright Bank Xiamen Branch

●Period: November 27, 2020 to January 3, 2021

●Venue: Jimei New Town Citizen Square Exhibition Hall, Three Shadows Xiamen Photography Art Center

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Responsible editors: Wu Yajuan, Zhen Wenlong

Source: Xiamen.com