Zhang Zhaotang's journey through time photography is endless nostalgia

The 77-year-old Taiwanese photographer Zhang Zhaotang has created photography for more than half a century. The word "years" is not only time, but also hides the vicissitudes of life; it is also nostalgia, showing emotion. Zhang Zhaotang, whose forehead is full of wrinkles, said, "Time is nostalgia for me, and many memories and characters are nostalgia."

Those who are familiar with Zhang Zhaotang must have heard of his "years". In the 1990s, he produced a documentary program titled "Times in China". Since then, he has often named exhibitions and blog articles after "Times". In 2013, he held a large-scale retrospective exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, which was named "Times in Time". He explained, "The characters in the photos also have their years, and each character is living their journey through the years." The nostalgia in the years actually existed early in the morning. When he took pictures of children's lives decades ago, he couldn't help but feel Think back to your childhood. Now that his family lives in Taipei, Banqiao has grown beyond recognition. Without the lovely streets of the past, how could he not arouse nostalgia and nostalgia?

However, what he misses most is the stage from high school to college. At that time, he curiously picked up his brother's 120 camera and took pictures everywhere without a teacher. The place of enlightenment was the balcony of his home, and then he walked slowly to the street, walking further and further, knowing how to press the shutter at the best time. "At that time, photography was very intuitive and pure, and there was no theory and knowledge of photography. When I saw interesting and friendly pictures, I took pictures."
In the 1960s, Taiwan's photography circles were based on the salon painting style dominated by Lang Jingshan on one side, and the realistic style reflecting social reality on the other side. Zhang Zhaotang in his college days was rebellious and unmoved. He was determined to add a sense of modernity to his images, which shows his maverick. To this day, people are still talking about how his "Modern Photography Double Exhibition" co-hosted with Zheng Sangxi in 1965 was very different from the aesthetic salon and realistic style of the time, and it became a clear spring in the photography world.

Engineering boys love literature and music

Zhang Zhaotang studied civil engineering in college, but he is more interested in literature, "Existentialism and absurd theater were very new to young people at that time, I want to express a sense of theater and absurdity through video, to echo What is existence?” The works of that period were headless figures, posed nudes, and misfocused portraits. In the tense atmosphere of martial law, these images with surreal imprints became his outlet to express his emotions. Even by today's standards, the pictures are still edgy, and he still misses his imagination back then.

Photographers of that era only cared about photography itself and didn't pay much attention to literature, film and music, but he was different. Photographer Eugene Smith is obsessed with jazz, and the young Zhang Zhaotang also loves music. He has a wealth of records and likes the works of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Lou Reed. It became my nourishment and accompanies my growth.”

After his military service, Zhang Zhaotang joined a TV station as a photojournalist in 1968, engaged in news interviews and documentary filming. Later, when he was shooting movies in the 1980s, he also used his spare time to shoot documentary-style photos. It is the experience of shooting documentaries and movies that makes him travel all over Taiwan, meet different people and see different scenes, "For a photographer, the more chaotic your career, the better, and you can do it in any occasion. It’s an opportunity to take pictures.” The photos like “A Journey Through the Years” were all taken in that era—he had an obvious change during this period, that is, he abandoned the previous Aires Automat 120 camera and switched to a lightweight 135 camera. to shoot, giving him more flexibility to capture fleeting images.

Aiying's back "I don't want the picture to be too straightforward"

Children, waiting and sleep are some of the key words of Zhang Zhaotang's photography. He always likes to photograph children, he thinks they are kind, natural and vital. "Many people say that my photos are rather sad or melancholy. In fact, they are just the natural expression of the middle-aged and elderly people who have experienced life. Taking happy pictures of children can balance the sadness of the elderly." Looking at his works, I always feel that the photos The people in it are waiting or expecting something, or sleeping, and he says it's all part of the journey of life.

Zhang Zhaotang also likes to photograph the back. Whether it is the nude posing in the early stage or the recumbent pig in this exhibition, all the audience sees is the back. "I usually look at the front too much, but there are a lot of imagination and speculation on the back. I don't want the picture to be too straightforward. A photo should have room for imagination, which is a better way of expression."

For many years, Zhang Zhaotang has been creating works in a casual way, and he still takes pictures everywhere with a compact digital camera. He rarely shoots specific subjects deliberately. For him, the biggest subject is life, "I especially like Wanhua and Sanxia. In these two places, I often go to take pictures and accumulate a lot of photos. Now I often organize the things I took in the past, and maybe one day I can precipitate a journey of time in a town.” Good works are extracted from the vicissitudes of time. Cheng, that pure sense of time made him feel warm.

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·The original text is found in Fruit Seeds