One of "Imaginary Image"
He Shixian, a 2022 undergraduate graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University Photography major
Nowadays, images are as ubiquitous as air. They are the visual source for people to obtain various information, and they also shape how people understand the world. "Thinking Template". A cultural imagination constructed from pictures surrounds us, blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction. The author of
collected tourist photos he took over the past few years. Based on the association of the original photos, he downloaded some refined pictures of well-known foreign attractions from the Internet and superimposed them on the original photos. Photography in the digital age beautifies these tourist destinations and spreads them around the world more conveniently. They have become exquisite templates packaged by consumerism, and they also bear the dreamy imagination of thousands of tourists about tourist destinations. Finally, the photos we generate ourselves also join this cycle, becoming a process in which images and concepts corroborate each other.
Part One of "Recreating Reality - Malevich's Metaverse"
Yan Yuxuan, a 2022 undergraduate graduate from the Photography Department of Tianjin University of Technology
The use of digital technology and the blessing of AI algorithms have made photography no longer just about the real world in the traditional sense Instead of accurately depicting it, it has a greater degree of freedom, can reconstruct time and space, and even create a realistic reality.
This work deconstructs the paintings of the abstract master Malevich, and uses computer software to simulate chairs, orchids , glass balls and other items of different colors, textures, and sizes, and reorganizes and splices them to retain the visual appearance. The artist's perception of the authenticity of the image is enhanced while reconstructing the visual elements in the painting.
One of the "Illustrated Guide to Pseudo-Exquisite Life"
Cao Naiqian, a 2022 undergraduate graduate of the photography major of Xi'an University of Technology
Nowadays, social media is flooded with a large number of "exquisite" life tutorial templates, and many young people "show" carefully crafted photos on social media Pack photos to create your ideal identity.
The author used the popular tags on social media such as "picnic", "beach bath" and "bag display" as inspiration for setting up the scenes at home and in the dormitory. These longing scenes were carefully arranged, but in the picture Deliberately exposed floors or real chaotic backgrounds puncture these falsehoods, embodying the sense of conflict between "pseudo" and "exquisite".
One of "Fictional Parallel Time and Space"
Liu Haowen, a 2022 undergraduate graduate of the Photography Department of Zhejiang University of Communication
This work uses still-like imaging techniques to show young people living in rental houses during the epidemic lockdown in Shanghai this spring. Waiting for the day of restart. By interviewing friends around him and combining his own feelings, the author of
selected several of the most representative scenes during the epidemic at home, and set, directed and starred in the photos. The red lights and flat posture create a dramatic visual atmosphere, while also hinting at the severe state of the epidemic at that time. The green mobile phone screen behind the character symbolizes people expressing their inner social needs through the Internet.
One of "Their Spring"
Zheng Peiqi, a 2022 undergraduate graduate from the Photography Department of Tianjin University of Technology
On the eve of her graduation, after experiencing a month of home isolation, the daily life of women under the epidemic became the focus of the author. The author takes family members and women of different ages and social roles as the subjects. Through communication with them and his own ideas, he designs a series of scenes that correspond to reality and imagination, forming a reflection and dialogue with each other, showing people's The desire to return to everyday life.
" Kabul Airport "
Yang Chao, a 2022 undergraduate graduate of the Photography Department of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts
This work was inspired by the news event of the evacuation of US troops from Kabul Airport, the capital of Afghanistan , on August 16, 2021. The author collected From the three or four videos and photos of the scene at that time, moments with different interpretation spaces were intercepted, reorganized, arranged, and collaged, and then the combined new images were disassembled into multiple small pieces for cyanotype production. The work is ultimately composed of 20 images, trying to reconstruct the entire picture of this event and trigger viewers to think about media and history.
"Image III" - 23C4A3701.cr2 Places of interest (Summer Palace)
Beijing Film Academy Tong Dan, a 2022 undergraduate graduate of the photography major
"Image" and "photography" have similar pronunciations, and they also symbolize the process of today's digital image production. Three links. The first floor is the shooting process, the second floor is the storage process, and the third floor is the interpretation process. The author worked with computers to repeatedly damage and restore the hard drives and memory cards that stored the images, and obtained a series of "reconstructed" images. Then replace the image in the picture of the character holding the viewfinder with the damaged material, and add your own interesting interpretation to visualize the "image" understood by the individual.
Editor's Note
Among the works of photography graduates from major universities in China this year, many are reminiscent of the artistic practices of contemporary photography masters, such as Cindy Sherman-style still performances, Stephen Shore's "Photograph" The discussion about "photos within photos" in "The Essence of Photos"... In the description of the work, "acting", "design", "scenery", "arrangement", "recreation" and "reconstruction" have become key words. This is not only a breakthrough in traditional photography forms by graduates, but also a projection of the current era and self-perception.
Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, there have been fewer documentary photography "field survey-style" shootings in graduation works in recent years. Internet image materials are used to explore the essence of images, reflecting social phenomena through self-direction and acting, or from people around us, Since then, there have been more and more works expressing what we see and feel during home isolation, and there are many excellent works among them. The presentation methods of works are also changing, from hanging in real-life exhibition halls full of space to flat presentation on online mobile phone screens. This has also become one of the factors affecting graduates’ subject selection and creative ideas.
From taking photos to creating "images", graduates are willing to tell their stories to the outside world through a perspective that better reflects the subjectivity of the creator. While exploring the malleability behind images, I constantly think about how to use photography as a medium for myself.
Editor in charge: Kong Siqi
Source: China Youth Daily
