Les flots écoulés ne reviennent pas à la source

Published in partnership with the Jumièges Abbey and Doors on the occasion of the exhibition of the same title, Les flots écoulés ne reviennent pas à la source centers upon the Chinese river, a seminal theme in contemporary photography in China, as seen through the eyes of thirteen visual artists.

From the re-appropriation of traditional Chinese painting where idealized landscapes seem suspended in time (“mountain-water”) to the accelerated modernization of the country and its consequences for nature and the environment, and visual narratives using its evocative power, the river has formed a recurring motif of inspiration for photographers in China over the past twenty years – whether Chinese or otherwise.

The book (bilingual French-Chinese) brings together reproductions of the exhibited works, an illustrated essay and exclusive interviews with the artists.

Artists: Yang Yongliang, Sui Taca, Luo Dan, Michael Cherney, Edward Burtynsky, Zhuang Hui, Chen Qiulin, Mu Ge, Liu Ke, Jia Zhangke, Zhang Xiao, Chen Ronghui, Zhang Kechun.