Happy New Year! and 2011 in review (part one)
In the tradition of pensive reflection of the past year, I present to you the blog’s “2011 in Review”. Below is the first of four installments rounding up my favorite…
中国
Light and Fury in the Night
Standing on the roof under the darkened sky, I felt the wind knife through me, chilling me right to the core. At that moment, the lunar eclipse was…
Confessions in Desheng Lane (德生里)
The entrance into De Sheng Lane (德生里) was like a door into nothingness. Surveying the vast sea of fallen brick and mortar, bleached by the blazing sun, I…
The Posture of Youth
“Youth is easily deceived, because it is quick to hope.” ~ Aristotle I had unintentionally trailed the two young girls for much of the block. One walked with…
What autumn means for some people
Was it only weeks ago that I was standing in the same intersection, trapped in a swirling dustbowl of construction, watching the team of leathery workers drill their…
Zaijietou.com (在街头) perspectives and the 1-year anniversary “Relay” (在接力) project
I’ve expressed my thoughts about street photography in China before and how it does not seem to be a genre that is widely understood or practiced in spite of the growing prevalence of niche…
How children take to the Roving Exhibit
As some of you may know, I gave a showing (video and talk) of The Roving Exhibit at the twocities gallery back in June. Unfortunately, I had recklessly…
Reflections at high noon
12 o’clock. The heat from the asphalt emanated with a kind of fury that dulled the senses and eventually the body. I tasted the salty perspiration on my…
The life and times of an old brick in Luwan* district
Located only minutes away from the hectic Xintiandi (新天地), the desolate longtang was as barren as the silence was deafening. February’s wintery cold only added to the vacuum….
A Seventh-day Adventist church of yesteryear, a budget inn of today
“No, I told you, you can’t go upstairs if you’re not a guest,” the teenage hotel desk clerk scowled at my camera. Just then, a portly middle-aged man…