Photography retrospective of life along Yellow River opens in Beijing

Photo: Courtesy of National Art Museum of China

 
The People of the Yellow River – Zhu Xianmin’s 60-year Photography Retrospective has opened at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. 

The exhibition features more than 160 works, all collected by the Chinese Academy of Art. The exhibition is divided into four units: Wind, Earth, People and Home. 
It is one of the largest and most representative retrospectives of Zhu’s works to date. 

Zhou Qingfu, head of the China Arts and Crafts Museum, said at the opening ceremony on Saturday that the artist has focused on the people of the Yellow River for more than half a century, which is admirable. 

“His works on the people of the Yellow River have irreplaceable and historical value in recording the changes in the production and living modes along the Yellow River in the past 60 years,” Zhou said.

Li Ge, chairman of the China Photographers Association, pointed out in his speech that Zhu is an influential contemporary photographer in China. 

“His photographic footprint covers the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin and the Pearl River Delta. He has persistently paid attention to the lives of ordinary people, and has captured the time and history of ordinary people in the great changes of the times with his lens, which has profound artistic value and social significance,” Li said.

The National Art Museum of China has held exhibitions for older generations of photographers such as Wu Yinxiang and Niu Weiyu. Their work not only reflects history, but also their worldview, outlook on life, values, and artistic views. The People of the Yellow River exhibition is also a full manifestation of Zhu’s several dimensions as a photographer.

Photo: Courtesy of National Art Museum of China

The National Art Museum of China held a Zhu Xianmin photography exhibition in 1985, and this exhibition comes 38 years later.

Zhu said that he was born in an ordinary peasant family on the banks of the Yellow River. The people around him had a simple and real glow, and their lives reflected the changing times.

“I hope that in a few years, when people see these pictures, they can understand that the Chinese people used to live like this. This is my responsibility as a photographer,” Zhu said.

The exhibition runs until December 5.