Ferit Kuyas (Switzerland) City of Ambition – Fast Forward in China
Space Preference: Open to all spaces except Retail Spaces, Restaurants and Artist Studios
Artist Statement City of Ambition is a visit to one of the largest cities in the world, Chongqing. I am showing cityscapes as the sheer dimensions of the city are very impressive to me. Like most of my work also this project has autobiographic roots: I got to know the city through my in-law-family who lives there and makes me feel home.
Chongqing was granted municipal status in 1997, rather late compared to Shanghai. But the people of Chongqing are very eager to show the world and their sister cities in China who they are. Together with the booming economy this leads to an explosion in city development. Construction sites and thousands of cranes everywhere. What is taking place there resembles the ongoings in Manhattan in the twenties – when Manhattan was built. So I think Stieglitz’ quote “City of Ambition” wraps up the situation in Chongqing quire well.
I am mainly interested in the outskirts of Chongqing, where the city can’t really be seen but sensed, like a tiger moving through the jungle – invisible, yet there. Also, construction sites and places of change are of main interest to me. They show us metaphorical facets of the huge changes taking place in contemporary China.
Sometimes it feels like moving through surreal scenery, like moving through a set made for a movie. I did choose to work in color, keeping the saturation low, as this fits best for this project, giving a sense of that surrealism back to the images. Although this body of work definitely has a documentary component I do not understand myself as a documentarist. The ability to express my personal emotions through my images is very important to me.
The immense size of the city, heat, humidity, fog, dust and traffic turned this project into an adventure. Using a 4x5 inch view camera forced me to work slowly. Travel logistics required me to limit my equipment. I worked with color negative film and restricted myself to one exposure per image. After developing the film and making contact sheets I scanned all selected material. I like to work hybrid because it gives me more control over the result.
Astonishingly, Chongqing in an unknown place for most people in the western world. The city is located in Southwest China’s region of Sichuan. Chongqing was the capital of China during World War II. The municipality is populated by approx. 32 million people.
The images in this submission are from several visits to Chongqing from 2005 to 2007. The whole body of work consists of approx. 220 images.
Captions
Ferit Kuyas, Chongqing Skyline, Changjiang River, seen from Nanbin Lu, Chongqing, 2005,
Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
Ferit Kuyas, Chongching Skyline, Chanjiang River Shore, Chongqing, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
Ferit Kuyas, Highways, Changjiang River, Nanbin Lu, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
Ferit Kuyas, Army Camp, Nanshan, Chongqing, 2006, Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
Ferit Kuyas, Office Building, Guard, Chongqing, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
Ferit Kuyas, Construction Site, Jingkai, Chongqing, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
Ferit Kuyas, Construction Site near Changjiang River, Chongqing, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
Ferit Kuyas, Farmer, Caiyuan Lu, Chongqing, 2006, Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
Ferit Kuyas, Bridge Construction, Caiyuan Lu, Chongqing, 2006, Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
Ferit Kuyas, Restaurant Boats on Changjiang River, Nanbin Lu, Chongqing, 2005, Archival Pigment Print, 20” x 16” or 50” x 40”
