20 lifeLIFEpulse| Culture Tuesday, September 6, 2016 CHINA CHINADAILY DAILY PHOTOGRAPHY merican photographer Roger “Birds fly fast. Cats are the worst to con­ Ballen’s distinctive style of trol. I just take photos spontaneously black­and­white images are when they move, maybe a good one or not. mostly described as “weird” by It all happens naturally,”says Ballen. viewersA because of the provocative themes. “I can speak cat language in order to People can now get a glimpse of his artis­ INNER MIND know what they’re thinking. But cats never tic works at an ongoing show in Beijing. tell me what they want,”he says, jokingly. The exhibition hall of the art museum at Roger Ballen presents life’s absurdities through black­and­white Animals in his pictures add a sense of the Central Academy of Fine Arts has been images in Beijing, Deng Zhangyu reports. reality into his fictionalized visual works, transformed into a gray­colored theater­ he explains. like area. Ballen’s photos are either sus­ Ballen says each picture needs thou­ pended in the air or mounted on tilted sands of steps for preparation, even wooden frames, some as high as 4 meters. though the shooting takes only 15 minutes To echo the show’s title, Theater of the sometimes. Absurd, Ballen has decorated a part of the To set up a backdrop for his photos, he area in the style of his pictures. Other than visited numerous flea markets in different putting up his photos on the walls, he has parts of the world, hunting for things he painted the walls in parts, too, and has wanted for his filming. installed animal sculptures on the floor. There are chairs for visitors as well. “It’s great! There are few times in my lifetime that things have been so interest­ ing,” the 66­year­old photographer says about his first show in Beijing. It’s not simply black and Every year, Ballen holds shows in differ­ ent cities across the world. But he calls the white. There are lots of Beijing show “unique” as it tries to explore a more interactive space with the audience. grays in between.” Fan Di’an, president of the Central Acad­ Roger Ballen, US photographer, says of his emy of Fine Arts, says: “When I walk into strong love for black­and­white images the show space, I am both a visitor and an actor of the ‘theater’.” Ballen’s works are a mix of drawings, Online installations and photography. His square Watch the photos always include wires, animals, dis­ video by carded stuff and graffiti on walls, bearing a scanning the distinctive aesthetic. code. The show features photos he took in South Africa in the past 20 years as well as Prior to his Beijing show, he spent days two videos, including the music video I visiting flea markets here looking for stuff Fink U Freeky that he co­directed for the he needed to build his “set” for the show. musical duo Die Antwoord. “I’m a world expert on flea markets now. Cai Meng, curator of the show, says he But it’s hard to find something unique,”he met Ballen in 2013 at the Pingyao Interna­ says, revealing a sense of humor, which tional Photography Festival, where the can sometimes be seen in his works. Johannesburg­based artist won the big­ On the theme of his Beijing show, he gest award of the festival in North China’s says it is through “absurdity” that he Shanxi province. understands life. Life is meaningless, he “Many contemporary Chinese photog­ says philosophically. No matter what we raphers are influenced by him,”says Cai. do, we can’t change our destinies. Ballen was born in New York and moved Cai, the curator, says Ballen expresses to Johannesburg in the 1970s. the workings of the human mind, a con­ He started his work in South Africa as a sistent style that the photographer has geologist and then kept recording life in pursued in his pictures to reflect people’s towns and villages by taking photos, with thoughts. portraits being his main subjects. Since Ballen’s strong love for black­and­white 2000, Ballen has changed his approach to images goes back 50 years to when he first tableaux, an abstract way of photography If you go used cameras to take portraits of people. that combines installations, sculptures, The simple aesthetic approach followed films and photography. 9:30 am­5:30 pm, through Sept 23. through his career. It’s common to see animals in his Art Museum, Central Academy of Fine Arts, “It’s not simply black and white. There pictures — rats, birds, geese, snakes and 8 Huajiadi South Street, Chaoyang district, are lots of grays in between,”he says. even lions are included in his “crew” list Beijing. 010­6477­1575. since Ballen calls himself the director of Contact the writer at his photos. Snagged, a photo by Ballen. Scream, a photo by Ballen. [email protected] Pengzhou special Pengzhou events, friendly ties boosting international reach By Li yu and Peng chao Vercelli in Italy — more than any in Chengdu other county-level city in Sichuan province. Pengzhou, a city in the north- In May, Han Yi, Party chief of west of Chengdu, capital of Pengzhou, met with a visiting Southwest China’s Sichuan prov- mission from Seine-et-Marne, Pengzhou is both a ince, is playing an active role in in France’s Ile-de-France region, international cooperation and to discuss possible cooperation young and old city. exchanges. in the fields of tourism, trade, It has a 4,000-year The city has just held the 2016 culture, agriculture and environ- Chengdu International Sister Cit- mental protection. history as well as ies Youth Music Festival, at which The two sides signed an agree- six teams from countries includ- ment on friendly cooperation. fashionable modern ing Russia, Israel, the United Jean-Jacques Barbaux, presi- States, Japan and Mexico put on dent of the general council of styles.” an entertaining music show for Seine-et-Marne and head of the the public. French delegation, said he was Jean-Jacques Barbaux, president Gilad Segev, a popular Israeli impressed by Pengzhou’s devel- of the general council of Seine- musician who participated in the opment potential and its natural et-Marne music festival, spoke highly of the environment. event and said he regards Peng- “Pengzhou is both a young and zhou as a perfect location to hold old city. It has a 4,000-year histo- the event. ry as well as fashionable modern “The city has deepened its friend- styles,” he said. Pengzhou intro ship with other cities around the “The French-style town of Bai- world and fully demonstrated its lu makes us feel at home. There unique character that combines is a Chinese saying that though Pengzhou is 25 kilometers both tradition and fashion, urban they are born 1,000 miles apart, to the northwest of downtown and rural, and rapid growth and souls which are one shall meet,” Chengdu, capital of Sichuan laid-back lifestyles throughout the Bailu is a French-styled town, where French missionary Annet-Théophile Pinchon built a Roman Catholic college in the 1860s. he added. province. It covers an area of event,” he said. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHIna DaIly In the same month, Pengzhou 1,421 square kilometers and has A series of other activities were sent a delegation to New Zealand, a population of 810,000. also held at the music festival, Vanuatu and Australia, during It is known as the “hometown including an outdoor sports chal- which Pengzhou Mayor Dong of peonies”. The earliest written lenge and a mountain scenery Li and Onen Gavika, mayor of record detailing the planting of photo contest, as well as a feast of Luganville in Vanuatu, signed an the flower in the city dates from German craft beer. agreement for friendly coopera- the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It According to the Pengzhou tion. remains a specialty of the city to publicity department, the city The agreement makes Peng- this day and has become the city has hosted more events in recent zhou the first city in Sichuan to flower of Pengzhou. years to help develop itself into have a friendly relationship with The city is a key part of the a modern and international city. a city in the South Pacific islands. Longmen Mountain ecology Officials said that hosting Pengzhou also reached an tourism belt. Famous tourist international events makes the agreement with Ipswich, its sister spots in Pengzhou include city better-known to the world, city in Australia, to deepen coop- the Longmenshan National and leads to more cooperation eration in trade and education as Geological Park, Baishuihe and exchanges with foreign coun- well as in events. National Nature Reserve, tries, which as a result will boost In July, Pengzhou signed an Baishuihe National Forestry the city’s social and economic agreement with Oakville, a sub- Park and Longmenshan National development. The city of Pengzhou has hosted a number of international cultural events in the past years. urban town in Southern Ontario, Scenic Spot Zone. Pengzhou has a long history of Canada. The two sides are sched- The city lies at the foreign exchanges. uled to establish friendly ties intersection of the Silk Road In 1860, French missionary a cultural relic under State protec- perform at the festival. in Chengdu this year, and Peng- next year, and they will conduct Economic Belt and the 21st Annet-Théophile Pinchon went to tion. Last year, the town established zhou will also send a troupe to friendly exchanges and deepen Century Maritime Silk Road, and Bailu, a small town in Pengzhou, Bailu has hosted a French clas- friendly relations with Moret-sur- perform at the event.