Published in 2012 by Éditions Bessard, Sample Room is a beautiful monograph devoted to Chinese photographer Chen Jiagang. With its sophisticated graphic design and limited-edition run of 500 copies, the book is more than a simple publication—it’s an art object.
Throughout its 128 pages, Sample Room introduces (or reintroduces) readers to one of the superstars of contemporary Chinese photography. A trained architect and museum director, Chen Jiagang (b. 1962 in Chongqing) burst onto the international scene in the 2000s with his dazzling works combining documentary and staged photography. Jiagang has witnessed the urban and social upheaval of contemporary China, and he appears determined to depict his country simply, to return its memories to its people, with his undeniable subjectivity and reinvention.
Cities in ruins, disfigured landscapes, abandoned and revitalized factories, deceptive interior scenes: each place steeped in history and, now, uncertainty, is both documented and reinvented. Jiagang likes to populate this apparent urban chaos with delicate feminine presences, emerging at once from the historical past and his own memory. With his camera and team, Jiagang takes monumental portraits, capturing the echo of a past life, a forgotten memory, and a necessary awareness.
Sample Room marks a long-term collaboration between the Éditions Bessard and the photographer, who will again work with the publishing house for his next book.
Read the full article on the French version of L’Oeil.
http://www.editionsbessard.com
