Scottish capital offers unique look at changing face of China

The only UK opportunity to catch an unprecedented and unique photographic exhibition, documenting the changing face of China over 50 years comes to the City Art Centre in Edinburgh this summer.

Unseen China is brought to the Scottish capital by the Confucius Institute for Scotland and is a highlight of the year-long China Now In Scotland festival. The exhibition is a pictorial self-portrait offering an unparalleled glimpse of changing life in China as viewed through the lenses of 250 photographers during a period of rapid social modernisation.

The run - from 5 July to 14 September - is the last chance to view the ground-breaking exhibition in Europe before it returns home to the Guangdong Museum of Art, in Guangzhou, China.

Comprising over 600 frank images – selected from more than 100,000 works by over 1,000 photographers – Unseen China has been organised by the Guangdong Museum of Art, where it was originally shown in 2003. It is truly unique in that it not only marks the first large-scale presentation of contemporary photography by a Chinese institution, but also the first time a museum in China has taken so much effort to collect photography as fine art.

Taken between 1951 and 2003, the photographs are divided into four distinct themes - existence, relations, desire and time - to strikingly portray the impact radical social upheaval has had on the individual in recent generations. As well as the glossy exterior of the economic boom in China's cities, the exhibition records the significance of radical cultural change from the vantage point of photographers living in China, creating images which reflect the real country with a true authenticity.

The photographs, many of them in black and white and the majority taken in the last 20 years, record in detail the daily lives, both public and private, of ordinary Chinese individuals, of varying ages and from diverse backgrounds, at work, rest and play, in both major cities and the countryside. The exhibition tracks photographically their journey over five decades to recover a sense of humanity and individual self-worth.

Complementing the exhibition will be a moving image project, organised by China Now In Scotland and featuring a collection of 33 short films and 25 creative voices, to provide further tantalising insights into cultural and social life in a country which is home to a fifth of the world’s population. The exhibition will also be accompanied by a varied events programme.

The City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DE is the venue with full details listed on www.cac.org.uk.

Article by Anna Baird