Yan Chang Jiang

Yan Chang Jiang’s Paper Men series is worth taking a look.

Paper Men series
© Yan Chang Jiang

I stumbled upon Yan’s works from the Chinese Photography website [it's all in Chinese], where a lengthy write up was given on his current exhibition in Shanghai. The dolls play out a fictional story fabricated by Yan, of which parallels can be drawn between the disappearing traditions of China, digitization of culture/religion and the fragility of mankind.

FYI, these paper dolls are actually burned during funerals to provide maids/servants for the deceased. Other objects that are sent to the Afterworld include cars, watches, houses et cetera. I remember the time when I had to take pictures during my uncle’s funeral and these dolls were the subject of several frames. Due to my own cultural associations, I was slightly turned off by the subject.

I’m wondering how we, as viewers, bring our own cultural interpretations into the way we look at images. For those of you who may not encountered these paper dolls before, what were your initial reactions to the images? And how did it change after my short introduction to the dolls?