Chinese celebrity photographer turns lens on Forbidden City

Editor:李苏璇
Source:chinadaily.com.cn
Updated:2020-06-09 16:16:56

[Photo provided by Li Shaobai]

Chinese celebrity photographer Li Shaobai has devoted himself to photographing the Forbidden City for more than 40 years. With exquisite images, he expresses a photographer's understanding and interpretation of the Forbidden City.

"In choosing a subject, my first concern is aesthetics. My work is not to present news events or convey knowledge, but to present aesthetic objects. To show a confidence in Chinese culture from the aesthetic point of view, there is no better choice than the Forbidden City of China. It is not only a magnificent piece of architecture, but also representative of Chinese culture. It shows the idea of the unity of man and nature. So I chose to shoot the Forbidden City," he said.

[Photo provided by Li Shaobai]

In 2020, the 600th anniversary of the Forbidden City, Li has launched a large-scale art album The Forbidden City of China and a small-scale art album The Forbidden City in My Heart, to pay homage to the traditional Chinese culture represented by the Forbidden City.

Li employed a unique perspective to show the magnificent architectural beauty of the Forbidden City and present a vivid image of it to people all over the world. The album contains exclusive photographs being published for the first time.

The two albums are designed and produced by Artron Art Group (Artron), a Chinese art company, and are made with the world’s most advanced printing technology.

[Photo provided by Li Shaobai]

The Forbidden City of China demonstrates the imperial palace courtyard through a one-day cycle. It begins at a still night and ends at a starry sky. The change of four seasons, and the joy and sorrow of the human beings there, are all concentrated between the walls of the Forbidden City in a space of 720,000 square meters, making the audience feel the Forbidden City is a living world. The Forbidden City of China has 600 limited edition copies signed by the artist.

The Forbidden City in My Heart is a mixture of pictures and text. It shows Li's photography skills and views in the form of interviews and images, and will be cherished by photography lovers.

[Photo provided by Li Shaobai]

Born in 1942 in Chongqing, Chinese celebrity photographer Li Shaobai was an editorial board member of magazines such as Popular Photography and Chinese Photography, a visiting professor of Minzu University of China and Nanjing University of Science & Technology, as well as a photographer for magazines, including Chinese National Geography and Civilization.

Li has held several exhibitions including The Mysterious Forbidden City (Beijing, 1992), The Invisible Forbidden City (Beijing, 2007) and The Forbidden City (Shenzhen, 2007). Li’s works on the Great Wall and the Forbidden City have been exhibited in the United States, France, Germany, Estonia, Switzerland and other countries.