Bruno Lessard

A selection of twelve images from the project was exhibited during the CONTACT Scotiabank Photography Festival 2019.

Exhibition title: Chengzhongcun 城中村

Gallery 1313, Toronto, May 22-June 16, 2019

http://g1313.org/6562/chengzhongcun-may-22-june-16/

Curated by Henry Heng Lu

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Containing over 60 photographs, the series was shot at night in five Chinese megacities: Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

Inspired by Brassaï’s seminal Paris de nuit [Paris by Night] (1933), the project focuses on three elements in Chinese urban environments: urban villages where migrant workers live; the juxtaposition of the old and the new denoting urban China’s ongoing transformations; and the visual archiving of older parts of town. The images capture the various light sources and reflections that colour the scenes at night and show undocumented areas of town – otherwise crowded and noisy during the day – in their unsuspected nocturnal tranquility.

The project has received the generous support of Ryerson University and the Faculty of Communication & Design.