Washing hanging out the windows, the smell of cooking wafting down the corridors, nannies chatting in the yard -- all this conjures up everyday life in an old lane house in Shanghai. Florent Nicolas Wendling, a French director and photographer, loves being part of the scene.
Wendling's home is located behind a Starbucks on Huaihai Road. From his small balcony, high-rises and shopping malls make a striking contrast with the old buildings in the surrounding streets. "It took me three months to find the ideal place for me," says Wendling.
"Can you imagine that I had to look at 10 to 15 apartments a week during that period? I like to live among the ordinary locals and explore their lifestyles." Wendling, now in his 40s, is the type of Frenchman who enjoys life and knows the knack of how to do so.
IKEA furniture mixed with several traditional red lanterns makes his home a chic dwelling hidden among the old red-brick houses. Wendling's photographic exhibition, "Culture Clash," part of the Year of France in China, will begin running at La Fabrique, a complex that houses exhibition halls, restaurants and bars before moving to The Room with a View gallery. The show is a collision of traditional Chinese costumes and fashion photography. The exhibition showcases fashion models wearing a mix of traditional costumes and contemporary makeup who are captured in motion. Wendling's inspiration came from a series of postcards he bought in Shanghai showing Chinese women in traditional costumes.
Like many foreigners, he was immediately enraptured by the Oriental charm of the pictures. In addition to mounting the exhibition, Wendling has also opened "Zoum Zoum," a Shanghai-based television/photography production studio. Within a year, says the Frenchman, he fell in love with the city, settled down and embarked on a new career in a foreign land.
"When I decided to come to Asia, I had Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai as my alternatives," he says. "I have friends in Tokyo and Beijing but no one in Shanghai. I chose here because I like to be thrown into a completely unknown environment."
With 20 years of experience in films and photography, Wendling has lived in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Hong Kong. In his early days in Paris, he started his career by producing and directing art documentaries for television. In 1988, he raised US$750,000 to produce and direct "Draw Me Europe," a prime-time television series which was sold to 13 countries. It was a project that even today Wendling is still proud of because it was the first time that a TV series was made using a mix of film and computer graphics. In 1992, he moved to New York City where he directed the ballroom scenes for Madonna's music video, "Queen's English." In Shanghai, Wendling has directed "Landmark," a commercial for the Jin Mao Tower, China's tallest skyscraper. He is now preparing a documentary for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. "Every day, I am so fully occupied," he says. Yes, if making coffee is the occupation he is referring to. "In the morning, I make my coffee and spend a lot of time on the Internet," he says.
"The Internet gives me lots of information that I need if I am going to `melt' into this culture." Wendling says that he likes Shanghai because the cultural life he has found here is similar to that of France. "For example, social networks play an important role in one's life," he says. "You know, France is well-known for its salon culture." Wendling meets different people every day in setting up his social network. Anyone invited to his home need not worry about how to find his address which can be a quite complicated affair. All the nannies know him and they will tell you: "Nicolas is on the third floor, just ring the white doorbell!"
(Shanghai Daily October 29, 2004)
