When artists express themselves from their own point of view, they also possess the contemporary information of a certain class of people. If you can dig and express from their own experience, it will raise questions from the side. - C. Z.

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The photographer Chen Zhuo is born in 1987 in a small Chinese village situated in the province of Henan; still very young, he moves to the city of Zhengzhou, capital of the same area. The transition towards a new scenario is not exactly consequence-free: on the contrary, it leaves a permanent mark on the visionary work of Zhou. In fact, the constant sense of alienation the city raises in the artist’s perception pushes him to find a valid alternative to that surreal reality.

As things stand, in 2011 he decides to take a trip towards an unknown countryside he then captures with his camera. The result is so satisfying that this habit continues through the years until 2017, ending up as an interesting artistic project.
Hidden is a series of abstract still lifes portraying unattended places, where people seem to be far, far away. Yet in every deserted place, on the top of every desolated snow-clad mountain, or in every silent desert is easy to detect the human presence. Whether it is an abandoned carousel, a train’ shadow or the perspective of the photographer, we are conscious that nature is not there by itself.

The 6 year-long artistic project Hidden is a journey through ourselves, but also through nature and the world, considering that the artworks are exhibited in several solo or collective shows and festivals: the most recent ones, for example, are the Goethe institute culture centre in Beijing and the Chongqing Art Museum (2017). Not to mention that Zhuo has also been listed among the Top 10 photographers of China and he was awarded as Best New Artist at the China Jinan International Photography Biennial of 2014.

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Author Silvia Colombo

Chen Zhuo: There is no clear point in time. Photography has been my main mediun systematically in 2011, even though it was one of my means of expression long ago.

Chen Zhuo: I subjectively shield some scenes about humans, but these landscapes have a very close relationship with people. I want to grab some abandoned places, unattended landscapes and so on which are surreal of my understanding.

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Chen Zhuo: I love every screen because they are like once appeared in my dreams.

Chen Zhuo: I think artist's individual experience or called growing environment is a vivid case. When artists express themselves from their own point of view, they also possess the contemporary information of a certain class of people. If you can dig and express from their own experience, it will raise questions from the side. 

Chen Zhuo: I am doing a new series of works about wild and nature which of course has obvious relationship of this series of works.

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