Ian Teh (Malasia, 1971) ha estado fotografiando China durante los últimos diez años al influjo del enorme desarrollo económico producido en la misma. Ha sido uno de los primeros fotógrafos extranjeros que ha podido fotografiar el lado oscuro del progreso chino provocando, con ello, una extraordinaria influencia en los muchos fotógrafos que han seguido su ejemplo y una influyente impronta en la evolución de la fotografía de documento.
Sus distintas series sobre China ponen de manifiesto las raíces del milagro económico chino, la alteración de su paisaje, las consecuencias de su progreso, la dureza de la vida en los entornos industriales, la indescriptible polución generada, la sangre y el sudor de los trabajadores y trabajadoras, así como la vida marginal de los habitantes de las ciudades anexas a los centros de desarrollo industrial.
En su última serie Traces, publicada por Deep Leep Editions, Ian Teh explora el interior de China en zonas interiores remotas y empobrecidas, en las que se ubican buena parte de la industria china y nos muestra -en ausencia de toda referencia a las personas- unas imágenes de inquebrantable precisión y sutil intensidad, haciéndolo sin ánimo de buscar, ni la crítica, ni propuesta alguna de solución.
Su intención no es otra que la de mostrarnos una realidad que bien pudiera definirse a través de las palabras de un camionero jubilado de la Mongolia interior que le dijo:
Hoy en día tenemos un mejor nivel de vida, incluso aunque nuestra expectativa de vida siga siendo corta. Nada de lo hecho aquí se queda aquí, nuestro gobierno ha exportado nuestros cielos azules hacia el oeste.
Foto portada y fotos: de la serie Traces de Ian Teh
Foto Portada: Coal, Ash and Snow. Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, China.
Fotos:
1. Tailings from a steel plant. Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, China.
2.- A new luxury residential development built next to a an industrial
complex. Linfen, Shauxi, China.
3. Farmland. Linfen, Shanxi, China.
4. The riverbed of the Kuye River, a subsidiary to the Yellow River. Yulin, Shaanxi, China.
5. A new cement plant recently constructed behind a now disused depot. Linfen, China.
6. A make shift quarry built at the bottom of a riverbed that is nearly dry due to over-mining. Yulin, Shaanxi, China.
7. Cement plant. Linfen, Shanxi, China.
8. Fly tipping on a river bank not far from the town centre. Yulin, Shaanxi, China.
9. Dusty roads lead from a quarry to the puffs of smoke that lie on the horizon signifyins factories busy at work. Shizuishan, China.
Click para ampliar:
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- A new luxury residential development that is being built opposite the Linfen Steel Factory on the outskirts of the city where countryside meets urbanity. This city is infamous for being the most polluted in China but has also benefitted economically from the coal industry. Linfen, Shanxi, China. 2010
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- Tailings from a steel plant. Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, China. 2010
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- A stream from the local reservoir on the outskirts of the city. Much of the heavy industry is located a few kilometres outside of the city not far from the reservoir and farmland. This city was once known the «Modern Fruit and Flower town» in the 80s but the proliferation of coal fired plants and mining has put this city in the top ten most polluted cities in the world. Linfen, Shanxi, China. 2010
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- Kuye River is a subsidiary to the Yellow River. 80 percent of the land in this region is made up of coal deposits. Due to overmining the water table has sunk and the river that was once full of water is now nearly dry. The city now wealthy from decades of coal mining now regularly suffers from water shortages. Yulin, Shaanxi, China. 2010
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- A new cement plant recently constructed behind a now disused coal depot. Two doors set in the hillside show the entrance to workers homes. Linfen, China. 2010
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- A make shift screening machinery that is built at the bottom of a river bed that is now nearly dry due to overmining in the area. Industrious entrepreneurs have exploited this misfortune by digging up the rocks in the area and selling it for construction. Yulin, Shaanxi, China. 2010
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- A factory at a steel plant on the outskirts of the city. Linfen, China. 2010
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- Not far from the town centre rubbish is dumped onto the banks of a river by residents living nearby. Poor planning in the development of these new expanding towns mean that public services have not managed to cope with the new demands of indstrialization in the area. Yulin, Shaanxi, China. 2010
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- Dusty roads lead from a quarry to the puffs of smoke that lie on the horizon signifying factories busy at work. A worker stands by a track waiting for lorries to unload the rocks they are carrying. Much of the landscape here was once farmland but been transformed by the rapid industrailization of this area. Shizuishan, China. 2010
