Beijing, Shanghai and Changchun
"I bore in mind one of the thoughts attributed to Confucius to help guide me through my first steps in the Middle Kingdom: 'Absence of talent in a woman is a virtue.' So I set off in search of talented women…"
Abstracts
"China is the country that has the most of everything, and also, as a result, the most coal mines. In a big outpouring of pure rhetoric, the Chinese government recently declared its great concern about ecological issues while also planning to bring current production of 2.1 billion tons of coal… up to 2.4 billion tons in 2010. Similarly, drastic laws have been promulgated on security in the mining environment.
Except that in the field, below the ground, corruption sets the law. Official statistics announce 6,000 deaths every year. Unofficial estimations cast out a figure of 20,000 deaths. Wen Wen lives in a small village near the Korean border, an hour or two from Baishan, literally 'White Mountain'. In summer, Baishan mountain is grey, veering towards anthracite black.
Extract from Zoé Zoé, Femmes du mondes, 2007, Éditions Gallimard
Works
Wangou, China
Gouache and pencil on paper
46 x 37 cm
Wangou, China
Middle format Contax 645
65 x 90 cm
Wangou, China
C-Print
185 x 150 cm
Beijing, China
Gouache on paper
46 x 37 cm
Beijing, China
Middle format Contax 645
70 x 90 cm
Maps
Gouache on paper
80 x 120 cm
Making-of
© Bruno Pellarin
© Bruno Pellarin
© Bruno Pellarin
© Bruno Pellarin
Image by Delphine Bole
