If his career is emblematic of broader currents, his photographs are even more so. “China is undergoing high-speed development and immerses itself in the exultation of prosperity,” writes Zhang, more observation than gripe. Zhang’s life has coincided almost perfectly with the post-Mao era in China, a period of seismic shifts and vertiginous change.
Centrally located, his home city has been a convenient launching point for countless photo journeys by rail, bike and foot, leading to The Yellow River and other projects. He is now based in the Sichuan capital Chengdu, a megacity of 16 million in southwestern China. He won the Daylight award the same year, showed at London Art Fair, AIPAD, Fotofest, and gradually earned a foothold on the international scene. His series The Yellow River won the Discovery award at Rencontres d’Arles in 2014, paving the way for its publication as a monograph. Part-time gigs shooting commercial photos led to full-time gigs, and then to art photography, a field into which he launched without a net. The interest began as a pinprick, then, as sometimes happens, swelled quickly into a passion. It wasn’t until several years later that he began teaching himself to take pictures. He was drawn initially down a more traditional path, earning an undergraduate design degree followed by several years working in interior design.
It took him some time to find his way into photography. Comments/Context: Zhang Kechun was born in 1980, in China’s Sichuan Province.
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