双城记：《家园》摄影艺术展，带你走近不一样的上海、伦敦 - 2016年11月04日

THIS year marks the golden age of Sino-British ties. To promote bilateral communication and collaboration between the two countries in the fields of culture and arts, “Home•Town Photo & Art Exhibition” is open to the public at Bund 18.

The exhibition showcases the changing urban images of Shanghai and London through multiple sets of photos, designs and installations.

Six artists — Chen Haiwen, Alan Chan, Wang Wei, Ye Love, Sun Ruixiang and Hu Ge — give their interpretations of the meaning of “hometown” at the exhibition.

The exhibit, which was first held in London in June, received a warm welcome from the local community.

As the British Consul General in Shanghai John Edwards stressed in his speech during the opening ceremony, “My job is to bring people together. Bring Chinese people and British people together. And this is what the exhibition is doing.”

The organizers hope the exhibition will prompt more British people to travel to Shanghai and also the other way around.

The venue, Bund 18, used to be the China headquarters of British bank Standard Chartered. Linking Shanghai and London, the building itself is a witness to the great changes that have taken place in the city.

Participating artists either live or travel between Shanghai and London. Both cities have had an impact on their lives. Interestingly, four out of six artists were born and grew up in Shanghai.

Chen Haiwen, an award-winning professional photographer, has been a shutterbug since 1981. He is presenting two sets of his works, “Impression•London” and “River of Time, River of City.”

Through his lens, viewers can see not only the changes of the cities but also the people and their lives.

“I’ve taken photos of Shanghai for 30 years. Compared with London, our Bund is very young but it’s energetic, promising and hopeful,” says Chen.

Sun Ruixiang, or Xiang Sun, rose to fame in the fashion industry after he was chosen by Karl Lagerfeld as a backstage photographer for Chanel and Lagerfeld’s brands in 2009.

From model to photographer, Sun brings a set of black-and-white portraits chosen from his project which features over 200 people who live or work in Shanghai.

“To me, everyday life after moving back to Shanghai is as exciting as a movie. It inspired me to take photos of others and their lives in Shanghai just like an ongoing film,” says Sun.

Shanghai Tourism Ambassador Hu Ge, a popular actor, shows a series of photos he took at Shanghai Tower.

“Unluckily, it was very foggy that day. I waited five or six hours for it to clear as I planned some landscape shots of the city. But the fog remained. So I turned my camera to the inside of the building — ‘the Shanghai under construction’,” says Hu.

Apart from photographs, the exhibition displays six visual works from Ye Love including the two posters he created for Shanghai Grand Theater for autumn and winter 2016, as well as “Con•struct•ure” and “BEING” from photographer Wang Wei, whose works have been featured in some of the top magazines around the world including ELLE DECORATION, AD, VOGUE, Time and Newsweek.

Renowned Hong Kong designer Alan Chan has picked up more than 600 awards in his career. This time, he is exhibiting a multimedia installation “One Fine Line/Life,” depicting his understanding of life and the philosophy behind the minimalistic beauty.

In his works, TV screens become a canvas showing life as a fine line of continuous consequences.

Another work on display is his first furniture “Silk Road” S Chair collection, which was first exhibited at the Milan Expo 2015. Its unique shape represents a wide range of concepts, such as West and East, past and present, classical and contemporary, craftsmanship and technology, functionality and form, men and women, yin and yang.

Visitors to the exhibition can enjoy a panoramic view of Shanghai and London by simply putting on the VR headset. The newest technology also allows the visitor to connect to the panorama system through by scanning on their smartphones.

Shanghai Municipal Information Office and British Consulate General in Shanghai, along with the Shanghai International Culture Association, the British Tourist Authority and Branding Shanghai, have organized the exhibition. Home•Town Photo & Art Exhibition

Date: Through November 15, 10am-10pm

Venue: 2/F, Bund 18, 18 Zhongshan Rd E1