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M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation, © Weng Fen
Weng Fen 翁奮
Sitting on the Wall—Shenzhen (I) 騎牆──深圳（I）
2002
In this photograph, an adolescent girl with a ponytail sits straddling a concrete wall, above a black bag placed against the wall. Dressed in a white shirt and checked skirt, her back is turned towards the viewer as she looks at the Shenzhen skyline of high-rise buildings. This photograph is part of Weng Fen’s On the Wall series, which features schoolgirls sitting on walls or barriers, gazing at tall buildings or construction in Chinese cities. The series suggests a parallel between the schoolgirls and the cities—with both at a stage of transition. Weng’s photograph offers an ambiguous portrayal of urban transformation. While the girl and the cityscape evoke youthful energy, the girl’s posture suggests either a quiet moment of solitary contemplation, or apprehension at the looming development. With one leg dangling on the viewer’s side of the wall, her position implies having one foot in the past and the other in the future. In a related series, Bird’s Eye View, Weng further explores the physical and emotional aspects of urban transformation in China, in compositions of one or two schoolgirls looking out towards urban landscapes.
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