In 2013 I was using an interpreter to talk with what appear to be rather poor Shanghainese. That young lady eventual became my wife, but lets discuss the people we visited. Those people were also homeowners. This made most of them not nearly as poor as they appeared to be, actually they were rather property-rich. They were being moved by the Government, somewhat without choice, and surprisingly few with reluctance. The majority of people are optimistic about their future homes. There are others we visited in situations where the individuals feel they are being treated unfairly. For various reasons, they felt the Government wouldn't be giving them the same value per meter that others will receive. At the time, as we visited those homes and people, what we were seeing was rubble. The kayos grew week by week. First went the electricity; then the water; then this structural wall and that... The Government was crushing homes as people left, leaving those left behind, those who were holding out for higher offers, in greater levels of ruin as time went on. Dropping bricks through the roof 'by accident' a whole in the wall one day, a door missing the next. This is not an isolated area and it is not a rare event. It seems to be happening in every city I visit. Older areas are being removed to make room for higher, shinier structures. Even in places far away from cities, older towns are being removed for multiple reasons besides the value of the land. People are being paid to change homes because of safety and efficiency reasons. How this might be understood is to think about the likelihood of these building having a fire where people can not escape, as compared to a newer building; that is the safety issue. 'Efficiency' here, relates to the cost of having a Fire Department and Police Department for these low population, spread out communities as compared to if those same communities were brought closer together sharing these resources, forming fewer, larger, newer, safer community.
I tried to imagine this happening in America on such a scale. Though buildings are condemned in America, or a new highway takes out homes, what I am watching in China is the erasing of a lifestyle. As I take it in, I am witnessing a cycle of a changing cityscape—a culture itself is shedding its skin. I have a particular area where I have been documenting the evolution. I have recorded, with video, some conversations with the people who feel forced out. It is becoming a wasteland. You can see various stages below. The empty black holes that you see were businesses and homes within days of some of these first pictures. Eventually it will be apartment buildings, not housing those that have been removed. The people are shifted out of these homes to newer ones. When these homes have been replaced some of the new tenants will be people removed from other areas. The cycle continues. This is what I have been looking for: landscape, culture, community, motion, and renewal. And my next phase of my own expressions of art will seek to capture this landscape, this decrescendo of a culture, and the tenor of a dying Chinese subculture. Above, there is a film called 'Gone Town.' Everything you see in the film is now trees and grass. It is in fact, another place chosen to be erased.
Some of these older places are treated quite the opposite. They are infused with money to reconstruct and preserve them. The people are paid to continue their traditions. They are meant to be heritage sites and places to visit. I take photos of these sites too. You can view some in the link above, or here: "When a place is preserved pics." These places are near large cities, in the cities, and far from the cities. It is something like the luck of the draw that determines what your future will be like. As a Chinese person in an old neighborhood, will you be left alone with your neighbors, sent to the ancient past with your neighbors, or will you all be brought to construction of the present? Whatever happens, it tends to happen as groups of community. This page has videos where I discuss what I am seeing with my brother, Dr. James English. It has video of conversations with the people I visited with, and it has pictures as I found all of this visually incredible.
I tried to imagine this happening in America on such a scale. Though buildings are condemned in America, or a new highway takes out homes, what I am watching in China is the erasing of a lifestyle. As I take it in, I am witnessing a cycle of a changing cityscape—a culture itself is shedding its skin. I have a particular area where I have been documenting the evolution. I have recorded, with video, some conversations with the people who feel forced out. It is becoming a wasteland. You can see various stages below. The empty black holes that you see were businesses and homes within days of some of these first pictures. Eventually it will be apartment buildings, not housing those that have been removed. The people are shifted out of these homes to newer ones. When these homes have been replaced some of the new tenants will be people removed from other areas. The cycle continues. This is what I have been looking for: landscape, culture, community, motion, and renewal. And my next phase of my own expressions of art will seek to capture this landscape, this decrescendo of a culture, and the tenor of a dying Chinese subculture. Above, there is a film called 'Gone Town.' Everything you see in the film is now trees and grass. It is in fact, another place chosen to be erased.
Some of these older places are treated quite the opposite. They are infused with money to reconstruct and preserve them. The people are paid to continue their traditions. They are meant to be heritage sites and places to visit. I take photos of these sites too. You can view some in the link above, or here: "When a place is preserved pics." These places are near large cities, in the cities, and far from the cities. It is something like the luck of the draw that determines what your future will be like. As a Chinese person in an old neighborhood, will you be left alone with your neighbors, sent to the ancient past with your neighbors, or will you all be brought to construction of the present? Whatever happens, it tends to happen as groups of community. This page has videos where I discuss what I am seeing with my brother, Dr. James English. It has video of conversations with the people I visited with, and it has pictures as I found all of this visually incredible.
