“I have been photographing in China since 2006. I began in Shanghai and was immediately entranced with the dynamic Pearl District when viewed from the Bund. I went on to Beijing and photographed the Forbidden Palace and the Great Wall, as tourists have to do. I also explored around Guilin and the beautiful Li River. Then I visited the extraordinary Huangshan Mountain range. On later travels I went up to the frozen areas North of Harbin in the dead of winter, and back all the way South to Xiapu to photograph the coastal fishing industry. Most recently I have been in Yunnan, where the Yuanyang rice paddies are like giant wood block prints, and the vast Erhai Lake glistens in the sunshine. Basically, I have barely scratched the surface of this mysterious, ancient and huge country. Photographing China could be a life’s work, and there would always be more to discover. This book is the beginning, I hope to continue my explorations for many more years to come.” - Michael Kenna

“The British photographer Michael Kenna deeply impressed Chinese viewers with genuine originality in his solo exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum in 2007. Ever since, Kenna’s influence has been spreading across China. Kenna’s style has something different from western landscape photography. What he presents in the picture is suggested. Instead of filling the image with rich details, he follows the principle of “less is more,” leaving the blank part of the image to tell the visual story. This photographic technique resembles the traditional Chinese painting style of the Song Dynasty. The blanks not only stimulate the imagination of the viewer, but also challenge the imagination and creativity of the artist. When looking at these Asian-Western infused landscape photographs, we can see Kenna’s intention to combine the “air” in oriental culture into his aesthetic system. His Japanese landscape photographs convey the flavor of Haiku, while those on Chinese landscapes emphasize the profoundness of Chinese ink painting.” - Zheng Gu

Michael Kenna’s art prints also available with us. Please contact us for more detail.

「我從 2006 年開始在中國拍攝。從上海開始，往外灘看過去，立刻被充滿活力的東方明珠區迷住了。然後我到訪北京，當遊客必須做的－拍攝了故宮和長城。我還探索了桂林和美麗的漓江，參觀了非凡的黃山山脈。在後來的旅程中，我於寒冬裡到達哈爾濱北部地區，然後一路向南走到霞浦拍攝沿海漁業。最後我去了雲南，拍攝那裡宛如巨型版畫的元陽稻田，遼闊的洱海在陽光下熠熠生輝。基本上，我對這個神秘、古老而龐大的國家幾乎未有完全了解，拍攝中國可能是畢生的工作，因為總會有更多的發現。這本書只是開始，希望在未來多年裡可以繼續我的探索。」- Michael Kenna