The Gentle People of Siwen

The Gentle People of Siwen is a photographic novel developed with residents and people connected to Siwen. Beginning with relocation, dwelling and everyday relationships, it considers how people carry their experiences into the places they live and the relationships around them. Social labels cannot replace an understanding of a person; photography offers a way to approach one another through the details of daily life.

From fieldwork to photographic narrative

The project brings fieldwork together with workshops using single-use cameras. Distributing cameras, setting up stalls and maintaining contact form its working method. Residents choose subjects connected to their lives, families or neighbourhood. The creative intention is to bring these photographs into relation with their makers’ accounts, finding shared stories across different experiences.

The method leaves the outcome open: relationships come first, allowing the collected images and stories to guide the editing that follows.

A handmade four-fold book

The work takes the form of a handmade four-fold book, presented as an artwork for viewing and turning in the exhibition. It has not been published. Closing, opening, standing and turning its pages bring the photographic narrative into a relationship between the book as an object and the viewer’s actions.