About the Artist

Yan Ming

Chinese photographer Yan Ming, born in Dingyuan, Anhui in the 1970s, is known for his photography series, Country of Ambition and Land of Bygone. After graduating from college where he studied Chinese language and literature, Yan has tried several different professions, including middle school teacher, rock musician, magazine editor, record company staff, and journalist. Resigned from public office in 2010, Yan now is an independent photographer, living in Guangzhou. Known as a “poet-photographer”, Yan is a winner of Hou Dengke Documentary Photography Award, and Photography Talent Award, France. His works are widely collected by international and local art organizations and collectors.

Yan’s photographs always unfold between eccentricity and reality, without deliberate criticism or sarcasm. He stands in a distant position, and captures new scenery of long-standing landscapes in a subtle way, thus rendering humorous and emotionally charged insights to his viewers. As artist Xu Lei said, “Yan’s works present a lot, yet his devotions are most essential. Chinese people have always shared close feelings for mountains, rivers and departed friends through dynasties from Li Bai to Liu Yuxi. Yan inherits this ancient emotion that endures throughout all generations.” Poems are ubiquitous in his photography, and every poem is filled with his imagination and emotion. “In fact, Yan doesn’t capture poetry. He creates it. Without dedication, cultivation, artistic and visual training, and real-life emotions like Yan’s, one can hardly relate to any scenery that he or she comes across. Therefore, instead of recording or capturing, Yan is creating something profound.” Said Jia Zhangke.