06-NOV-2004
Because Suzhou is a historic city that is now trying to draw many tourists, it is seems almost unreal at times.
It is like the whole city wearing a big mask of deception-- the city pretends to be something that it was a long time ago, and everyone here seems to be playing a role on this city stage. This street cleaner does not take part however. He just sits back and takes it in.
23-MAR-2004
I made this picture in Nanjing, a Chinese city with a long and sad history. This woman, burdened with a child, was far away from me, and not only in terms of distance. She seems to be standing out there in a world of her own. A small and simple world, full of responsibilities and burdens. Her world offers her few choices. She looks at me, standing in my world, with curiosity and incomprehension. For her, life is just what it is. She does not think about a better life, because she does not know how.
12-JAN-2004
I abstracted the woman by using light and frame, drawing the eye into the steam. By doing so, I tried to make the picture convey a sense of place, and bring my viewers into the picture, helping them to both feel and smell this place.
28-DEC-2003
Large numbers of workers from China's poorer cities such as Heifei, migrate to Shanghai to find jobs in factories and other places with low wages. This migrant mother is one many such laborers, returning from Shanghai to Heifei on this train. She holds her own child in her arms as she looks up at another migrant mother. Although her life is very hard, I feel that she carries not only this child with her, but also a sense of hope. It is what keeps her, and all of these migrant laborers, going.