Zhang Kechun
B. China, 1980
(24)
B. China 1980
Biography
Zhang Kechun’s work examines the post-industrial landscape of China. Working with a large-format camera he produces epic vistas that dwell on the significance of the landscape in modern Chinese national identity. In particular, Kechun explores the relationship between the country’s cultural heritage and the effects of modernisation. Kechun’s works are quietly beautiful and hugely atmospheric, using a soft and subtle colour palette. Whilst Kechun imbues the altered landscape of China with a tragic beauty, his photographs also capture the comical moments in people’s everyday lives that he encounters.
Zhang Kechun was born in 1980 in Sichuan, China. His work has been exhibited at Photoquai, Paris, the Beijing Photo Biennale, China and the Delhi Photo Festival, India. Kechun won the Discovery Award at Les Rencontres d’Arles for The Yellow River in 2014. He won the National Geographic Picks Global Photo Contest in 1998 and was shortlisted at the Sony World Photography Awards in 2013. In 2023 he was awarded first prize the Still Life category at the Sony World Photography Awards. He lives and works in Chengdu, China.