Aline Dufat
Fragmented Landscape
Edition of 1
Fragmented Landscape (2014) consists of 34 images taken from a larger series of 82 polaroid photographs. Documenting and witnessing some of the demolition and physical change taking place in Beijing, the series focuses on the ‘hutongs’ (the narrow streets, alleys and courtyard in Beijing). Taken over a period of 6 months, the rapidly shifting landscape on show represents a country in major transition. The rich cultural and historical significance of the hutongs is fading quickly as the pressure from urban development increases.
The use of a polaroid camera (along with defective film) as the medium to record this urban change adds something pertinent as it parallels the disappearance of a certain time and way of life.
As a book, Fragmented Landscape invites different levels of observation, allowing the viewer to navigate the images as individual photographs and to scrutinize them in detail offering a shift from abstraction to possible narrative.
