Slowly Down the River (2002~2007) 往にし方の三峡をめぐる旅

This is a photo story on the construction of the Three Gorges dam, in the middle reaches of the Yangtse river, China. Completed in 2009, it is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Due to the construction, it is said that approximately 1.9 million residents lost their native land. Many riverside towns that flourished along the waterways were submerged, and as the water level inexorably continued to rise, the age-old history of this area, carried down from ancient times, came to an end. Though some years had passed since the completion of this photo story, I believe this story still works as a showcase of the real China, and hints at how this chaotic country is moving towards the future.

About the artist: Yasuhiro Ogawa

Born in Kanagawa, Japan in 1968. He started photography in early twenties by the strong influence of Sebastian Salgado’s work. 

He has had many solo and group exhibitions including Futashika-na-Chizu at Kodak Photo Salon, Tokyo (1999), Slowly Down the River at Nikon Salon Ginza, Tokyo (2006), Winter Journey at Doozo Gallery, Rome (2013), Caascade at Sokyusha Gallery, Tokyo (2018) and Contes des iles et Paysages de la Mer du Japon at Inbetween Gallery, Paris (2018). 

He has published five photobooks such as Slowly Down the River (Creo, 2008), Shimagatari (Sokyusha, 2014), Cascade (Sokyusha, 2017), By the Sea (self-published, 2018) and The Dreaming (Sokyusha, 2020). He has won several awards such as the Taiyo Award for his first solo exhibition Futashika-na-Chizu (2000) and The photographic Society of Japan New Comer Award for his first book Slowly Down the River. He was a finalist at the Oskar Barnack Award (2006) and the Hayashi Tadahiko Award (2015).

He currently lives in Tokyo.

Slowly Down the River (2002~2007) 往にし方の三峡をめぐる旅

這是關於中國長江三峽中游大壩建設的攝影故事。它於 2009 年竣工，是世界上最大的水電站大壩。 據說由於該項目的建設，令到大約有190萬居民失去了他們的故土。 隨著水位的不斷上升，許多沿水道興盛的河畔小鎮被淹沒，這一地區自古流傳下來的悠久歷史也告一段落。 雖然這輯照片故事已經完成了數年，但我相信這系列仍然能夠展示出一個真實的中國，反映這個國家如何走向未來。

關於藝術家：小川康博

1968年生於日本神奈川縣。90年代初深受大師 Sebastião Salgado 的作品啟發而踏入攝影領域，目前作為自由攝影師並定居東京。他舉辦過多場個展和聯合展覽，出版了五本攝影集並曾獲得了多個獎項，包括他的第一個個人展覽《Futashika-na-Chizu》（1999年）獲第37屆太陽賞，以及第一本攝影集《Slowly Down the River》（2006年）獲得了日本攝影學會新人獎。