Photo display of great dams shows contrast
Print Edition
PHOTOGRAPHER Tang Ling spent a year traveling with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to 10 dams on eight of China’s great rivers, including the Three Gorges, taking photos of the engineering spectacles, the natural landscapes and the people, while looking at the dilemma of building dams.
His solo exhibition “On and On” has been on tour since March 17 in Hong Kong, Beijing and Hangzhou. Now on its last stop in Shanghai, it is hosted by The Nature Conservancy and Rockbund at the Associate Mission Building until June 6.
All the works in this exhibition are in black and white. Tang says he wanted to avoid the distractions of color, preferring the pure visual language that comes closest to the dams’ own texture.
“My concept for the great dams is something I came up with step by step, and so is our awareness of environmental protection,” he says.
The exhibition calls attention to the critical issues the rivers in China are facing. Dams guard against floods, generate electricity and facilitate the movement of goods, bringing a wide range of benefits. But the rivers are running dry, with fish unable to migrate upstream and the lakes are ever shallower.
The natural environment is under stress from the enormous dams, and the speed of construction and development is damaging the rivers to an extent that many may soon be beyond recovery.
Tang wrote in his notes, “Managing the relationship with water and rivers is the key to living in harmony with the natural world. These photographs of dams document this relationship and shine a light on hydrological issues in China today. By working with TNC on this project, I hope to get those who view our work thinking about these ecological issues.”
In 2013 and 2014, Tang and a TNC team traveled across China, from the frozen rivers of the north to the warm and misty south. Together with local guides and residents, they visited the rivers and dams, observing and documenting firsthand the transformation in the lives of local valley inhabitants and their natural environment.
Date: Through June 6, 10am-6pm
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