"Faces of Germany, Faces of Guangzhou"
In cooperation with Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany Guangzhou
Date： 2021.10.31-11.30
Artists Carsten Sander XIAO Quan
Curators: Dr. Jasmin Gong CHEN Ruijun
Host: Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany Guangzhou
Organizer: InterCulture
Artists：
Carsten Sander卡斯滕·桑德：
In his portraits, SANDER, has captured many famous and interesting faces from the worlds of Art, Music, Film, Fashion and Sport. He manages not only to portray the Surface image, but the innermost emotions of his sitters. An acute sense for the essence of people and a healthy dash of madness join forces to enable SANDER's images to be simultaneously visionary and classic. It has always been and will always be a thrill and welcome challenge for me to share the way i see the world through the lens of my mind. He learned his craft through assisting since a very young age other established photographers. He has and had his studios in Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf and exhibits worldwide. In addition to the HEIMAT illustrated book, the FACES OF EUROPE illustrated book was also created. For his works, SANDER received the ART DIRECTORS CLUB Prize, the GERMAN PHOTOBOOK PRIZE and the GERMAN DESIGN AWARD.
XIAO Quan肖全：
1959, born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, had served in the Air Force to the Navy for 4 years, known as " the best portrait photographer in China ".
1991, Photographic book Birds in the Heaven was published, and the first solo exhibition was held at the end of the same year in Taipei, Taiwan.
1992-1995, Participated in a photography group exhibition in Europe and held a solo exhibition. Picture photography in chief for Movie by Zhang Yimou and picture photography in chief for Movie by Yang Liping.
1996, Photographic book Our Generation was published.
2000, photographic book Beautiful Women under my Camera was published.
2004-2021, Several solo exhibitions in various cities in China and around the world Solo exhibitions were held in various cities across China and around the world, and photographic book were published.
2020, solo exhibition Portraits of our Time, Dec in ShenZhen, China.
2021, solo exhibition In China, When Everything Is Happening, April in Prague Municipal Art Museum, Czech Republic.
2021, solo exhibition Portraits of our Time, in Guanzhou, China.
Preface:
"Imago est Amini Vultus" —Cicero.
Carsten Sander's collection of documentary photography "HEIMAT.GERMANY — Your Faces" presents in an egalitarian fashion the poor, the rich, the famous, the happy and the sick, the old and the young. It is an opus about tolerance and peaceful co-existence, and a colourful picture of contemporary German society.
Carsten Sander is a renowned German photography artist. Over a period of seven years, he captured 1,000 faces of people from different parts of Germany, and behind each face is a moving story. Sander photographs his subjects' faces from the front, without them posing, and against always the same background, thus capturing the essence of each human being and offering a glimpse into their soul.
Looking from near, every portrait has clear individual characteristics. However, the elements of a single face will blur and merge into a larger composition when looking from afar, indicating that these different individuals have in common that they all belong to "Heimat" (which means home or homeland). Carsten once said that "Heimat" has little to do with the location, but much with the people living there.
This Carsten Sander's series has been influenced and inspired by the late master German photographer August Sander’s work, "Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts". Coincidentally, the Chinese artist XIAO Quan, who is Carsten's counterpart in this exhibition, has also drawn inspiration from August Sander.
XIAO Quan is regarded by many as the best portrait photographer in China. When XIAO Quan saw "Young Farmers" (ca.1914), one part of the works from August Sander's "Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts", he said to himself "I also want to take photos like this!". His determination was to record our time through photographs of typical faces, thus he named his project "Portrait of Our Time".
During the shooting of "Portrait of Our Time", XIAO Quan minimized the marginal elements of the picture — background, surrounding, clothes, seasons, region, etc., so that often sometimes only a dark background is left; on the other hand, he uses advanced lighting deliberately, even when capturing portraits outdoor. In XIAO Quan's words, he wants to create a sense of a solemn ritual, offering his sitters irrespective of their social status — even to a construction worker whom he coincidentally met in the street — a feeling of standing on stage, under the spotlight, being appreciated and respected.
Carsten Sander and XIAO Quan both chose to have cities, countries and times solely documented by their people, through portraits which are both concise and vivid. Behind each expressive photo is the culture and the life the respective sitters, as well as the dreams and thoughts they have. The juxtaposition of these two artists, with their unique techniques and ingenious creativity, let the audience not only see the differences between the two cultures, but even more what they have in common.
Next year will be marked by the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and China. On this occasion, InterCulture is honoured to partner with the German Consulate General in inviting the most outstanding portrait photographers from the two countries to conduct a cultural and artistic dialogue across time and space. We are looking forward to this ancestral hall, with its Lingnan architecture and its history of more than 300 years, being once again the stage for a meaningful exchange between interesting people.
