Vertical Communism is a long term project about the city of Chongqing. This city, one of the biggest in central china, went through one of the fastest development process in the country. The main reason is, located upstream of the three gorges dam, the government has welcomed all displaced population from submerged region into its main urban areas. The city is fascinating because of its accelerated development that produced high rises buildings on the side of rivers and mountains, taking away the traditional charms of the old chang kai shek capital, but also because of its political and social history. Once at the hand of the biggest organized crime group in China, the city has been re manipulated into a neo communist style red propaganda machine, led by the highly controversial son of a famous revolutionary named Bo Xilai. With his wife now in prison for the murder of a british national, and his personal implication in corruptions and tortures, Bo Xilai has been quickly removed from any government places in China and the city is looking once again for a new direction.
I personally see Chongqing as a macro representation of the whole China. With its tumultuous political history and its growing social pressure for managing farmers coming into urban areas for a better life, all of it pushed by a constant need of investments and fast modernization, I wanted to portray this view of a growing china, far away from the common views of eastern cities such as shanghai or beijing. From a photographic point of view, I have decided to shoot the people in their environment. But i have decided to take a step back, using medium format film camera, I want to transmit the feeling of scales that the city and china in general is facing. Urban Scales, Social Scales, the country's biggest problem is now to find a way to link some extremes the highly rich to the very poor, the extravagant to the meaningful. Vertical Communism is a portrait of chinese a megapolis full of contradiction, trying to keep up with its unpredictable modernization.
farming in the city
A farmer is growing vegetables on the side of a construction site in front of newly finished high rises housing tower in the jiangbei district of chongqing
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Local people fishing on the Jialing river downtown Chongqing. The polustion dust is so strong that we cant see any side of the city
Restaurant on Jia Ling river
On the side of the Jialing river in Beijing, a restaurant on a boat is welcoming guests to watch the sunset in the gloomy chongqing atmosphere.
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Chongqing caribbean water Park
As temperature often rise above 40 degres in the central city of Chongqing, local escape the heat at a caribbean themed water park. During the week ends, the pool get really crowded
Highway above the forest
On the south side of the yangtse river, the giant caiyuanba bridge is flying over remains of farmlands.
Farmer high rise
As part of the urbanisation of the contryside of chongqing, farmer are being moved into concrete multi story buildings.
farm & offices
Farm lands in front of office building in the new Tiandi developpment project in central chongqing
Slow improvised crops are slowly getting eaten by consturction sites
