Anyone walking around Beijing cannot help but notice the scores of new buildings rising to the skies. These towers of steel and glass have been lovingly photographed by British photographer Alister Benn (pictured with wife, Sun Juanli). With a background in nature and landscape photography, he has his lens trained on Beijing's modern skyscrapers. By combining his high-resolution pictures with Photoshop, he constructs abstract images, whose inter-connecting planes and colors create a grand sense of scale, space and depth.
Benn plays subtly with light, line and color in his beautifully printed and framed set of photographs. Building interiors, window reflections, even people join as part of the total composition, appearing as small details that attract the eye and humanize the overall impression. Benn's love for his adopted city shows and his work puts a positive light on modern Beijing.
These new buildings reflect the future of the city, says Alister and that interests him more than its past as reflected in the traditional hutong and courtyards.
Growing up in rural Scotland in a household that encouraged a love for nature and the outdoors, it was somewhat inevitable that Benn would end up traveling the world in search of wild places.
He came to Beijing in 2000 where he met his wife Sun Juanli, who was born in the mountains of central Hubei province and majored in art and design. Together they set off on five years of traveling and photography around the world; from South America, Australia and South East Asia to the Rocky Mountains and High Sierras of Canada and the United States.
In 2005, they moved back to China and shared their time between the cities of the northeast and the mountains of Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet.
By this time Sun had firmly established herself as one of the finest bird photographers in China, with many images published in the international media and books.
In November 2007, she opened the A3 (A-cubed) Gallery in the 798 Art District of Beijing to showcase the fine art prints and contemporary works of her husband.
Story by Chen Nan, photo by Guo Yingguang
Friday to Sunday, 11am - 4pm. Room 204, Gongmei Building, 2 Jiuxianqiao Road, 798 Art District, Chaoyang District. 13911703704
(China Daily February 23, 2008)