Yixian International Photo Festival… or as the Balkans would say… Sad ga vidiš, sad ga ne vidiš… :)

Sooo.. There it was.. Yixiang International Photo Festival was coming and also the Party congress to announce (not elect or something) the new Communist Party leader of the great China. Never a good combination… Why? When I have landed on Huangshan airport one day before the opening I got the news… The local authorities canceled the festival. If this would be anywhere else but China it would surprise me.. But after living here for couple of months I could only say – Mafan- troubles. It was still quite a shock (mostly for the great team of organisers) since about 20-30 complete exhibitions of the best Chinese photographers + of great selection of international photographers + mine were printed, framed installed in the 5 different villages, catalogues printed, concerts, talks, markets, workshops organized and on the top of this, everything mostly financed by the same people that has canceled the festival… Go figure this out…

Buuut, instead of crying out loud we have seized the moment and took out the best of the given situation. It was not long that I have meet some old friends and meet new ones in the house of Ou Ning, the main organizer, curator, capo di banda…

Next day we have planed to get up early and check the exhibitions that were not put down yet and we were happy to see that some of the best were still on display. This was the start of out little underground festival… We were strolling in the small villages, finding out ways around the exhibition spaces scattered around… Eventually we have seen also my new 3D exhibition called Timekeeper. This series was shot in this villages 4 months ago, when I have spend 7 days cursing around this villages and shooting. I was really happy when I have seen that my work were put up in one of the nicest ancestors halls… The one where one of the opening scenes of the Crouching tiger, hidden dragon was filmed. And in addition to that, I have shared the same place with the exhibition of Iwan Baan… As I have heard my show was on for the longest time, since it didnt had any problematic photos… I will take this as a compliment at this time… 🙂 Since most of the foreign artist and Chinese artist from further away flew here before the news of the cancellation break out we still had 3 amazing nights together. 3 dinners, 3 concerts, Beijing Opera performance and 2x sino-french-italian-slovenian friendship hotel after parties… Oh yeah… And when we were walking through all this villages again I took the opportunity to find the people I have shot and giving them photos that I have took of them… They were supper happy, especially when 4 moths later they really didn’t expect me knocking on their doors again… 🙂

There is a slight option that this whole thing is going to be moved and shown in some other place, but that’s another story…

As I have said to Ou Ning, that was by fare the best canceled festival that I have attended and I am really hoping they will be luckier next time…

One more time a HUGE thank you to the whole crew for the hard work, organisation, everything!!!

A dance hall where all the villagers from the Bisham village meet every night to dance…

Photographer Lu Yanpeng and his works…

Thomas meditating…

Coal and Ice exhibition

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Mia casa

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My exhibition is great a great place for picknicks, table tenis tournaments and meetings…

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SOme of the people I have shoot I have meet on the street…

SOme at home..

SOme were working…

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Thats how we rooooll! The funniest thing was that I knew in this small village is a skating ground… And when we asked people where it is whey asked us…Which one you mean, we have three! 😀 3?! In one small village?!

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the gang

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Ou Ning with the new Laibach silver badge that I have brought him from Slovenia

~ by matjazz on November 21, 2012.