Huang Qingjun and Ma Hongjie decided to collaborate on this project, ‘Family Stuff’ in 2005. They have visited a number of areas in China for this project looking for typical Chinese homes to photograph by bringing the domestic objects used in everyday life outside. ‘Huang and Ma work as independent partners, Huang covering the North, Ma the South of the country. Convincing families to expose themselves to their cameras is the major challenge that both face on their respective expeditions. Building trust and laying the groundwork for the shoot can take months, again and again Huang and Ma have to explain why they want the families to empty their houses and let the artists decoratively arrange their belongings outside. Once they have agreed to participate, most families are happy to display their possessions, even more so since they receive financial compensation. In some cases, not all belongings are permitted to be shown, in others not all furniture fits through the doorways; but generally, the artists confirm, their portraits depict average Chinese reality as it is today: simple, unpretentious and compared to 20 years ago, strikingly void of political paraphernalia. In 2011 this project is scheduled to end with a total of 50 pictures and a book’. You can read more about this project on a mesa de luz.
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It never ceases to amaze me what people will do but this is pretty crazy.Oh well, at least I know you are safe and sound.
What a completely fascinating project! I lived in China for a while and was always amazed at how few possessions most people seemed to have and how small their living spaces were.
saw this show several months back in beijing. a very nice project. the family in the yurt is by far my favorite.
FANTASTIC !! these is a very interesting project !!
I lived in China , visited Mongolia too , I went to several different homes then , but , some of the people explained to me that they couldn’t invite me inside their places , because of the political situation of those times (1992).
They were still worried about the consequences .
I have edited six hours of film about China , but very few photos .
My focus was on the production of different factories , goods : (cristal , porcelain, precious stones , metal , enamel on metal , etc. etc…… all antique techniques , they are still being manufactured , almost in the same artisanal way plus the new advance (electricity , etc etc….)