Workers return home after a days work at a nearby coal power station and steel plant. Behind in the distance is a new cooling tower that has just been erected, the station is increasing its capacity. Tonghua, China.
Alisha Sett: Let’s talk about your first book — Undercurrents. Why did you choose to work in China?
Waitress. Hunchun, China.
The destroyed old city, soon to be submerged upon the completion of the Three Gorges dam. Wanzhou, China.
AS: Could you talk more about that? For those of us who only know China through the media we have, broadly, two competing or coexisting visions — a state without any sense of democracy and a deep history of human rights abuse as against the shining modern towers of Shanghai and a booming economy towards which other developing economies should aspire.
The Yangtze River. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest in the world will displace 1.5 million people and submerge the cities, towns and villages along a 700km stretch on China’s longest river. Chongqing, China.
An old passenger boat on the waters of the Yangtze River by the Three Gorges. Hubei, China.
AS: Why was the visual language — photography in particular — your choice of exploration?
Worker in a small coal mine. China is the largest coal user in the world and has the unenviable record of the highest number of coal miners with lung problems. Datong, China.
A displaced family relocating by boat. Yangtze river. China.
“Photography is actually a very poor disseminator of information. […] But through evoking, photography connects with the emotional part of one self. For that reason it’s an effective tool for advertising.”
AS: So what would you say to younger photographers still coming to grips with the medium?
W Miners return home after a shift in the coal pits. The journey back to the surface is made by train and takes about 40 minutes. In general, safety standards in the large government owned mines have a higher level of safety standard. Shanxi, China.
AS: Do you think there is too much pressure on younger photographers now to do everything else before they’ve crossed these hurdles? Whether it’s investing time in Facebook or Instagram or networking?
A woman, one of the last inhabitants, crosses the oldest bridge in the city a few days before it is due to be demolished. Wanzhou, China.
AS: It’s about calibrating your use of technology.
Workers working at a coking plant. The production of coke releases highly toxic substances into the atmosphere that are often carcinogenic. Workers in these industrial plants are often directly exposed to the fumes that are emitted from this industrial process. Benxi, China.
“Pollution is one of the epic challenges that China faces today. Pollution’s medium to long term effects put China’s health and economy at a precipice.”
Copyright for all images: Ian Teh. This interview was first published on Obscura and Medium.
