I visited Shanghai several times. This prosperous and international city left a mixed impression in my mind. This city uses its extreme advancement and prosperity to show off its graceful dance to the world, but at the same time, it seems to vaguely reveal the flaws of beginners in its subtleties.
In the past few days, I have seen the portfolio of photographer Gerg Girard, which very concretely presents the Shanghai in my mind. It is beautiful, luxurious and elegant, and also violent, trying to fade away the youthfulness in an almost brutal way. It tried its best to shake off the past, but it followed silently like a ghost, appearing in unguarded corners of the city, hovering stubbornly.
Gerg Girard is a Canadian-born photographer who has spent most of his career in Asia. His work explores the social and physical transformation of regions. This series of works "Image Shanghai" nakedly presents Shanghais profound moments of transformation, the dissonance between old and new buildings, the small citizens who cling to Shanghais old days, the ruins of the city center, and the Shanghai skyline that is constantly being renovated. Underneath the line, phantoms of the past frozen in time can be seen everywhere.
