Living a nightmare, 2004 by Jennifer Zhou

Jennifer Zhou | all galleries >> Galleries >> Shanghai Subway > Living a nightmare, 2004


07-OCT-2004

Living a nightmare, 2004

shanghai china

This man crouches in a dark, cold entrance to the Shanghai Subway. His little cup is almost empty. The people rushing past him never even look down. He turns away from those who ignore him. He no longer has the heart to lift his cup to them. He covers his face with his hand, hiding from those blind to his suffering. This place is really a hell. His life is a nightmare -- the nightmare of all who must suffer in this world.

Canon EOS 10D
0.60s f/4.0 at 15.0mm iso400 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto

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Guenter Eh		21-Aug-2006 19:46
I can feel the cold, on my skin and in my heart!

alibenn		19-Feb-2005 16:52
Jen, I agree, this is certainly one of your most powerful shots. You have used all the great compositional elements to not just tell a story, or put across a concept, but to show reality, this guy is in hell, subways are hell, I hate them too!! The thing I love most about China is that there is always some lovely juxtaposition, the woman in the bottom right carrying her daughter, excellent work, we have a lot to learn from you..

Guest		18-Dec-2004 11:36
Phil sent me the link of this photo as one of his favourite the truth is that I agree with him all the dramatic composition remarked with the downfall of the stairs and the perspective that it gives, the subject kneeng down as if he was just a piece of junk in the subway (very dramatic indeed) and the people going up and down the stairs all dramatizes a bit more the situation then in te anterior photo yet. Very well achieved It is almost the image of the way down to hell.

Guest		18-Nov-2004 19:43
I can feel how degraded and allienated he feels. He needs to be there but he does what he can to be invisible, hides his face in his hand, crouches down to be small, so volnurable that he can't be steped on or pushed any time. Your camera looks down on him, just like we many times do look at poeple begging. Peter

Phil Douglis		22-Oct-2004 17:17
I agree with everything Marek said here, Jen. He prompts me to add still one more thought on this image, which I believe is the most substantive, thought provoking image you have ever made. This photograph goes well beyond a metaphor for human indifference and suffering. This man also seems to be figure out of another time and place -- he could be a peasant in a Bosch painting, a hunched timeless figure of life at its poorest. Yet he is crouched at the entrance to a long illuminated stairway that represents the contemporary world. Twenty First Century people rush by him on their way to work, a distant couple hug at the bottom of the steps, the great city of Shanghai is on the move, while he crouches in its midst, huddled in shame, fear, exhaustion, frustration, even grief. You have produced an image representing not only two worlds -- the worlds of the haves and the have-nots -- but also an image reaching deeply into the past and projecting it into the present, reminding us that our history will always be our legacy.

Guest		11-Oct-2004 11:50
Thematically, this image reminds me a little of myhttp://www.pbase.com/warno/image/20946071 except that I think yours is much better ;-) The similarity is that for me it explores the ‘parallel worlds’ theme, where the viewer is drawn into the life cage inhabited by the unfortunate protagonist. From that p.o.v. the image is about more than just indifference; it's about blindness. The poor man, on the one hand, wants to make an impression for pity in a world that chosses not to see him. On the other, the lack of impact, the indifference, is too much for him and he no longer wishes to see it. The image is wonderfully and meaningfully organised through a set of contrasts; the left and right divided by the central rail, the darkness he inhabits v the light of the other world (also the fluoresecent strips emphasise modernity), and finally the use of slow shutter speed which is what makes the image by creating the duality -- his world in its hardship somehow becomes ‘more real’. On another level, this image reminds me of Munch's The Scream; as an image it hides a cry of pain under its surface.

Phil Douglis		10-Oct-2004 04:19
I was not aware of that, Jen. You right -- let it stand. This will be the key image in your Shanghai Subway photo essay and let the overnight train picture be the key to Everyone has a story.

Jennifer Zhou		10-Oct-2004 01:18
Thanks Phil, But that picture in "Everybody Has a Story" was taken in a long-distance train not subway, sorry I didn't say it very clear! Without that photo, can I still have a nice essay too? Jen

Phil Douglis		09-Oct-2004 17:00
Hi, Jen. I think this is one of the two most important images in your Shanghai Subway gallery. And I do not think it is redundant at all. This image is about indifference to suffering. The one you link me to is about the futility and need. The images are related in theme, but not in content. The other most important image is now the title picture in your "Everyone has a story" gallery:http://www.pbase.com/angeleyes_zyl/image/32210561. I think you should move that powerful image into this subway gallery, and place it at the beginning, and place this shot at the end. When you get them both in here, I will sequence the others for you and turn this into a photographic essay. As for the tone of these subway images, I think it is up to you -- just make sure that every shot in this gallery is consistent. If you feel that your tone adds meaning, keep it. I look at it as a variation on black and white. I am a purist, Jen, and always prefer that every image be as pure, clean, and simple as possible, which means that a monochromatic image should be black and white. But I certainly would not deny you the right to express the mood you want to express here through that slightly off-color tone. It does not get in the way of meaning, as sepia does. But it is not black and white, and to some it might look a bit forced. The decision, Jen, is yours. If you believe in the simplicity and purity of your images, make them all black and white. And if you want to express how you feel about the subway by adding that slightly depressing tone, then do it. Phil

Jennifer Zhou		09-Oct-2004 10:27
Thank you so much Phil for your remarkable observation and explanation on this picture, and actually you did the same with hundreds of my other pictures already! Not only me can learn a lot from these comments but people looking at my pictures can also enjoy Phil's Insights and hopefully benefit from them!! I am so happy I made another expressive photograph and got 4 stars from Phil..Ha.. I was thinking to put it into "Shanghai Subway", but I already got another similer shot there:http://www.pbase.com/angeleyes_zyl/image/28037264 and you told me that I should not say one thing over and over again so... but on the other hand they are quit different.. Another thing I wanted to ask for your suggestion is do you think it is better to convert all other subway photos to B&W? Do you find the tone disturbing you? Actually I put some personal feelings into the tone, and it shows how I feel every time I walk into the subway..dark, cold, a place I can hardly breath, crowded people always in the hurry, and indifference above all....But with this picture I think B&W can express my feelings too and perhaps in more straightforward and efficient way~ How do you think Phil? Jen

Phil Douglis		08-Oct-2004 23:16
****One of your finest images to date, Jen. You use blur to abstract, incongruity by comparing the crouching man holding his head to the people who ignore his plight, and most of all, project human values. If ever an image said "Indifference' this one does. Even the tiny background figures work -- a couple appear to be hugging at the base of the stairs on the right. The very opposite of indifference. You might want to add this image to your Shanghai subway gallery -- it would become the key image in the photo-essay you and I planning to make out of it. Congratulations, Jen -- you do everything right here to tell a story and to express your feelings about what you see.

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