The simplicity in patterned wood
I’ve always liked the predictability and soothing effect of uncomplicated patterns. This was one reason why I found myself standing in front of a discreet entrance off the…
Hongkou
Update: A Photographer’s Eviction from the house on Yulin Road
Note: This was originally published on 6 January, 2011. I have since updated it upon new details revealed. From a distance, the row of European-styled houses stood out…
Life behind the wall
It can be claustrophobic in the alleys, especially when the backs of the shikumen apartments sit so closely to one another; it feels they are closing in. Hengfeng Lane (恒丰里) along the leafy…
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…
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…
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…
Before dinnertime, you could…
… sing a song. … run an errand. … play one last round of carom. … run around with a stick of celery. … trim your hair. And…
It’s a family affair
Along a quiet part of Huoshan Lu (霍山路), an old, wrinkled woman was parked by the curb in a rattan chair, quietly fanning herself. Surrounding her were two…
Scooter 1-2-3
Faster and sturdier than an electric bicycle, casual and a small enough an engine that a license is merely a formality. Anyone can learn to drive a scooter…
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