Guo Yingguang is a Chinese photographer. Her creations deal with social problems of contemporary China: women to marry, arranged marriages and pseudo-intimacy between husbands and wives victims of such marriages.
China –
KT: Having started your photographic career with photojournalistic agency Reuters, when/what was your first encounter with photography?
GY: It was before I graduated from college when I worked as a photojournalism intern at a newspaper.
KT: Your work is about exploring social problems in contemporary China: women on the shelf arranged marriages, and pseudo-intimacy between the husbands and wives who are the victims of such marriages. On what basis do you select your subjects? What are the hardships you face while working on such intimate subjects?
GY: I chose this subject because the phrase “leftover women” was widely used in China at the time, and I was one of these “leftover women” myself. The year I turned 30 was a time when I had to make a lot of decisions, and it was also a period of confusion and uncertainty. I decided to go to graduate school in the UK, and my time there made me reflect on many issues related to self-worth. So the project started with the phrase “leftover women”, and it went on to explore marriages arranged by parents. Are these arranged marriages happy ones? Can a marriage really bring an end to anxieties? What’s it like to be in a pseudo-intimate relationship? One question was raised after another and the project proceeded from there. Overall, I think the more difficult part for me in this project was to present that kind of pseudo-intimacy visually.
KT: Your recent photobook ‘The Bliss of Conformity’ is a powerful project which questions the traditional intergenerational relationships and views of marriage, as well as discrimination against the so-called ‘leftover women’. What do you like about photography in a photo book format?
GY: I think the photobook is a very intuitive medium, and it can trigger a myriad of subtle emotions. The viewer, as well as the tempo, method and location of viewing, can result in many different possibilities.
