Empty Mountain
Photograph by Ye Wenlong
Curated by Yiwei Lu
Ye’s photography is a modern interpretation of traditional Chinese “Shanshui” landscape paintings. Shanshui translates directly to “the paintings of mountain and water,“ and symbolizes a peaceful life.
A good Shanshui painting contains what is referred to as “Yi Jing,” “Yi“ being the artist’s personal feelings and aesthetics, and “Jing” being the landscape itself. Utilizing a flat perspective and negative spaces, Ye is able to find his “Yi” in the landscape and convey the same consistent Eastern-style black-and-white pictorial quality in his landscape photography, no matter the location.
Born in Zhangjiang Province in 1979, Ye is an independent photographer in China. Working with a digital medium format camera and spending at least six months out of a year shooting in China and all over the world, Ye hones his craft of Eastern-style landscape photography. He has exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide and has won the Chinese Academy of Photography award, the highest award in a Chinese fine art photography field.
