The Danysz gallery iof Paris, is devoting an exhibition to this Dutch photographer and to the second chapter of a trilogy, started in 2012 and made at the heart of cities away from his studio and his habits. A journey between fantasies and emotions, which reminds Erwin Olaf of a form of adolescence.
The Shanghai series is the second part of a trio that started with Berlin, after one of my trips and my work in different cities throughout the world. As a Photographic artist, this trilogy is the first and only time that I have not recreated a universe in a studio. Instead, I used places in the towns that intrigued me. I tried to create cinematographic associations, fantasies, and emotions, which embodies these precious places, whether in buildings, private houses or public places.
Shanghai, in it,’s on way, reminds me of a form of adolescence, full of confidence and energy, convinced of its own power and doing everything to achieve its potential. This power is reaffirmed by the colossal horizon and the rise and growth of suburbia, which happens almost monthly. It may be frightening to see at what speed puberty has transformed this town into a morbidly obese young adult: its heart beating faster and faster in a stifling atmosphere of ruthless reshuffling.
For me, Shanghai incarnates the explosive power of the expansionism in which the Asian continent has been swept in, heads down these last decades, with 24 million inhabitants in this Chinese port city, working, buying and moving continuously, surrounded by advertising with bright colors, animated electronic images, by sounds…
Like the series Berlin, centered on the power of youth, Shanghai focuses on young adults who have to survive in a dominating metropolis. The third and last chapter of this project will explore the weak and the elderly and will be developed in the United States.
Erwin Olaf
Erwin Olaf Springveld, was born on June 2nd, 1959 in Hilversum, He is a Dutch photographer. He lives and works in Amsterdam since the 1980s’
Erwin Olaf, Shanghai
Du 07 avril au 07 juin 2018
Galerie Danysz
78 Rue Amelot
75011 Paris
France
