China is here. Not only the largest nation in the world, but also shortly to become the largest economy in the world, the impact of China on the global stage in undeniable. As the balance shifts from west to east, the 'Middle Kingdom' increasingly impacts upon all of our lives. According to the 2010 Chinese census, China accounts for 19.3% of the world's population - almost one in five people on this planet. Who are these people? What do they look like? How do they live? How much of what we think we know about China is based on hearsay, myths or propoganda from a bygone age?
Between September 2009 and February 2010, I travelled extensively through China, photographing the people I met and observed, their behaviour and their landscape. In this collection of images, I seek to put a human face to China, in an attempt to understand this nation for myself.
This collection was created for exhibition at The Oriental Museum, Durham, and runs between 22nd June and 16th September 2012.