Asia Photo Books

HIDEMI RYU, Taiwan 1971-1978 Photographs by Akio Ohki, Fukuoka 2000. Hardcover 24,5 x 25,5 cm. 84 pag. met 70 zwart-wit foto's.

"Japanese photographer Akio Ohki, born in 1938 in Tokoyo, visited Taiwan over 20 times between 1971 and 1978, taking photographs in a country that was still politically isolated and under martial law. His images were published in Japan in 2000, and his first American solo exhibition is at Sepia International in New York from Nov 4 - Dec 23, 2006. These pictures have a dark and edgy quality, using high contrast with dark blacks from which the highlights seem to glow, and are often taken on a skew as the photographer shot from the hip, presumably to avoid detection. Taiwan's modern history has a plot-line familiar to the history of many small territories around the globe that have been caught between the push-and-pull of political ideologies. Invasion, resistance, damning isolation, and exaggerated international attention are the characters continually recast on the stage of the 20th century. But the particulars, of necessity, always differ. Japan had surrended, bringing about the close of the Pacific theater of WWII as well as their occupation of Taiwan, a rather small island off the coast of China. The civil war in China that followed, between the Nationalist and Communist parties, led to a situation where the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, leaving the mainland under Mao's rule and the island in a state of uncertainty and martial law which lasted until 1987. The 70s, as witnessed by the Japanese-born photographer Akio Ohki, were years of complete isolation, and these images were taken with absolute discretion. This is the first time they have been shown or published. Darkly printed and utilizing shadow to its utmost impact, Ohki's street photographs include butchers, vendors, locals people and religious festivals, many of which have been lost to time."

BALDIZZONE T. & G., Tales from the river Brahmaputra Tibet India Bangladesh, Honhgkong 1998. hardcover 25 x 32 cm. 329 pag. met 230 kleurenfoto's.

"The River Brahmaputra runs from the Himalayas in Tibet, through India, and on through Bangladesh, winding its way through three countries, numerous languages and cultures, and three great religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Tales from the River Brahmaputra follows the course of this sacred river with 150 stunning photos accompanied by descriptive text, seeing in its timeless flowing an allegory of birth, childhood, youth, maturity, and old age. The book chronicles the lives of the people who live along the river and their relationship to it, as well as each region's architecture, agriculture, history, religion, and culture."

MEG MAGGIO & ZHANG LI, Ten Years: Zhuang Hui's Photography, Hong Kong 2003. Softcover, 130 pag. met 140 kleurfoto's.

"This book brings together a selection of over 140 photographs from one of China's top photographers, Zhuang Hui (Venice Biennale, Lyon Biennale, etc.), perhaps best known for his black and white, 180 degree pivoting camera shots of large groups of workers, peasants and soldiers. Comprising intimate and personal photos of people and places in China taken over the last ten years, this photographic journal is a visual tapestry of the life and work of the artist. Essays by Meg Maggio and Zhang Li provide important biographical and conceptual contexts for yet another deceptively nuanced and charged body of work by this important artist."

WANG WUSHENG, The Celestial Realm The Yellow Mountains of China, New York 2005. Hardcover 33 x30 cm. 240 pag. met 126 foto's waarvan 14 in kleur.

"For more than three decades, Wang Wusheng has been captivated by the beauty of Mount Huangshan—the Yellow Mountains—whose 72 jutting peaks, fringed with delicate pines, have inspired Chinese landscape painters for centuries."

VAN TUYL e.a., The Chinese Photography and Video from China, Wolfsburg 2004. Hardcover (oblong) 25,5 x 30,5 cm. 146 pag met ruim 80 foto's.

"For an exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, this catalogue not only introduces many Chinese photographers and video artists to a Western audience but also documents the social and political changes since the Maoist."

SPENCE,J. & CHIN,A. ,The Chinese Century, Londen 2002. Hardcover, 25 x 32 cm. 264 pag. met ca. 250 zwart-wit foto's.

“More than two hundred and fifty black-and-white photographs culled from archives, libraries, and private collections throughout China, Taiwan, and the West. Many of these images have never been seen outside China. They represent a veritable time machine of historical events which took place during the 20th century, ranging from images of the Boxer Rebellion through to the events of Tiananmen Square. The accompanying narrative text traces China's disintegration into civil and world war, Communist revolution, and its slow re-emergence as a military and economic power. "

The Great Wall of China, London 2001. Hardcover, 27 x 27 cm., met 223 pag.met 149 zwart-wit foto's en 6 kaarten.

"To place the photographs in context, the Chinese historian Luo Zhewen, who has dedicated his life to the study of the Great Wall, has written an essential brief history. Also included is Jorge Luis Borge"s meditation "The Wall and the Books" and an extract from Franz Kafka"s short story "The Great Wall of China"

JAN,M. (text) MICHAUD R & S (photography), The Great Wall of China, New York 2001.Hardcover 26,5 x 30,5 cm. 270 pag. met 165 afb. in kleur.

"The grandest symbol of Chinese engineering and history, the Great Wall is vividly portrayed in this album of color photographs, many spanning two pages. Paintings, miniature statuary, and other images accompany atmospheric views of the Forbidden City in Beijing, Turkoman horsemen riding much as their ancestors did, and ruins of the various incarnations of the wall, including its original construction in the 3rd century BC by China's first emperor. The large volume also offers excerpts from Chinese literature and a history of China viewed from the Wall."

Anne Wilkes Tucker, The Great Wall of China Photographs by Chen Changfen, Houston 2007. Hardcover 150 pag. met 71 foto’s in kleur en zwart-wit.

LOUIE,R., Toward a truer life Photographs of China 1980-1990 by Reagan Louie, New York 1991. Hardcover (oblong) 25 x 29 cm. 96 pag. met ca 75 kleurenfoto's.

"Award-winning Chinese-American photographer Reagan Louie traveled extensively through every province and region of China from the last days of Mao to the events at Tiananmen Square. Published on the occasion of a traveling exhibition."

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