YIZHOU LI
MA PHOTOGRAPHY
London College of Communication UAL
Specialisms: Photography
Location: Beijing, China
YIZHOU LI
First Name: YIZHOU
Last Name: LI
Specialisms: Photography
Sectors:
My Location: Beijing, China
University / College: London College of Communication UAL
Course / Program Title: MA PHOTOGRAPHY
About
Yizhou Li(b.1999) is a Chinese photographer who recently graduated from London College of Communication with a master degree in Photography. His undergraduate studies in interior design cultivated his keen observation of architectural space and internal structure. While drawing, he started to get in touch with the camera and gradually tried to visualize his expression through the language of photography.
His image style is deeply influenced by Japanese ‘Conpora’ photography, which is a simple and direct way to record things in the scope of people's daily life. These images, captured by pressing the shutter without overthinking, reflect his innermost emotions and his feelings towards the outside world. By learning the techniques of the darkroom, he was able to rethink his relationship with the image while making the photographs, and in the process exploring and building his own photographic narrative.
‘North of The Rivers' has been photographed over the last three years in the cities, towns and villages of northern China. The project uses the rivers as a route into the traditional cultures and lives of the people I encountered. Most of my photographs were taken on a road trip in the summer of 2024. Like Jack Kerouac in his novel 'On The Road' (1957), I enjoyed having a route but also being open to the unpredictability and freedom to wander away from the pathway when opportunities arose. I travelled across the North of China in an attempt to travel through time. Cities serve as carriers of memories and stories of human civilisation. I was born and grew up in a traditional northern city; however, my accent, personality, and habits changed with new experiences and environments. So what exactly is the 'north' for me? The north is my homeland. Yet no matter how far I've gone, the land still seems to call to my belonging soul. 'North of The Rivers' could be considered as an explorative journey in search of my identity. As a presence that carries time and memory, the river appears to be remain unchanged although it has been altered as it flows through the cities. The river stretches and branches into endless murmuring or loquacious streams like the people I encountered on my journey. The river landscape tells its own wordless narrative. Through photography, I pieced together the fragments of my journey; the roads I have travelled, the landscapes I have seen, and the people I have met, forming a spiritual bond between myself and the places I left a long time ago.
Competitions
