Carolina Nitsch is pleased to present NEW PHOTO - Ten Years, a portfolio with 16 photographs and a complete facsimile reprint of NEW PHOTO, the seminal underground magazine and forerunner of contemporary Chinese photography.
NEW PHOTO was published from 1996-1998 by Rong Rong and Liu Zheng in four issues with a print run of only 20-30 copies. The magazine featured photographs by WANG XU, GUAN CE, LIU ZHENG, JIANG ZHI, ZHAO LIANG, QIU ZHIJIE, RONG RONG, SAN MAO, YAN LEI, ZHUANG HUI, AN HONG, GAO BO, LIU ANPING, HONG LEI, ZHENG GUOGU, JIN YONGQUAN.
The journal contained cutting-edge work by burgeoning experimental photographers, many of whom subsequently became leading artists such as Qiu Zhijie, Zheng Guogu, Yan Lei, An Hong, Rong Rong, Hong Lei, or others. The works featured in NEW PHOTO played an important role in the history of Chinese experimental photography. Some demonstrate the gradual transition from photojournalism to conceptual photography, others are more firmly planted in the realm of the staged experimental, with posed scenes, erotic material and darker social commentary.
A decade ago, when NEW PHOTO was published, the only means of producing it was black and white photocopying - Beijing’s color photocopiers required unattainable permission to use. The erratic, limited edition publication schedule was dependent on its editors’ ability to scrape up enough money.
NEW PHOTO - Ten Years now comes with a complete facsimile reprint of the four magazine issues and a new fifth volume with interviews and statements by all 16 contributing artists and essays by Wu Hung, Karen Smith, Toshio Shimizu, Zhang Li and Christopher Phillips. Also included are artists’ biographies and a chronology of major events in contemporary Chinese photography. This new volume is printed in a bilingual English and Chinese version.
NEW PHOTO - Ten Years is published by Carolina Nitsch Contemporary Art, New York, and Chambers Fine Art, New York, in association with Three Shadows Photography Art Center, Beijing.