shashasha

While almost all the images in “Salt Ponds” show human elements, they are yet anonymous photos; while the photos were taken in cities all over China, they are yet indistinguishable from each other. What Chinese artist Ke Peng captured in her 5-year long series is a collective feeling of the Chinese people, and, more general, of the changes brought by modernization and technological changes.

With “Salt Ponds”, Ke Peng has managed the difficult task of producing images that, by themselves, enchant their viewers with beautifully captured micro-stories and, seen in succession, produce a fully-formed subjective view on the world.

“The Salt Pond is more like an ecosystem that may be slightly out of balance due to being involved, where the situation of the pond and the fish will eventually refer to people who is trapped in the city but also dependent on the excitement and security it brings.” (from the publisher’s statement)

The book includes an extensive interview with the artist as well as an afterword (in Chinese and English translation).