Photo © Gabriel Gauffre
Talent of the Year 2020 - NOMINEE: Gabriel Gauffre
Haunted
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In his book Spectres of Marx, Jacques Derrida talks of Hauntology, a philosophical concept referring to the persistence of elements of the past, constantly haunting the present.
Modern, CCP led China is constantly rewriting is past, while being conscious of its present through a restlessly evolving national narrative. Its odd relationship to Taiwan, for example, is a constant reminder of China’s paradoxes. Its alternative self, only 220 kilometers away.
The Chinese Communist Party put itself in an odd, indefensible position, where it considers Taiwan a Chinese province, but a province which has its own currency, passports, industry, and army. Taiwan, on the other hand, considers itself independent, and mainland China to still be occupied by the communists. A government in exile.
Some of the following images have been taken in China, while others on Kinmen, Taiwan’s closest territory, less than an hour’s boat from Xiamen, on the mainland. On this island, some abandoned bunkers still bear the marks of the conflicts which opposed the two Chinas, such as the three rules of engagement: “when you don’t shoot - when you’re not seeing, when it's out of range, when it's impossible to aim.” The giant speakers which used to blare anti-communist slogans across the strait are now visited by mainland Chinese tourists.
A common history, haunted by a common past, yet in a separate physical space.
Elements of Chinese history are forgotten, disappeared, re-thought and reintroduced to society, through an ever changing system where a version of the past writes a version of the present, itself at risk of changing in the future.
This work is an attempt at putting hauntology in images.
About author:
Raised in Paris, Gabriel has studied in international school in the French capital. There, he received a Bachelor’s in Sociology and Human Sciences in 2010. After working as a journalist in Photo Magazine, he left the French capital for London, U.K. in 2010, where he undertook an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.
There, he strayed from traditional journalism and explored different sides of documentary photography, and more concept driven bodies of work. After a year of working in a local paper and working on analogue based projects, he decided to try his luck in China, to broaden his horizon and collaborate with agency Transterra Media.
In Hangzhou, he was exhibited at the Alliance Française (French cultural center), worked for local magazines, and covered incredible China’s fake Paris for numerous publications including Ouest France, Vice France, Delayed Gratification in Europe throughout 2015 and 2016. He kept on learning Chinese and Japanese, until he moved to Shanghai. There, he worked for AFP Press agency and brands such as Beats by Dre, Tyson, MO&Co, and Holly Cato.
He works on projects mixing medias using writing, photography, and archives. He was exhibited at the Alliance Française in Hangzhou for his work « Frozen China » , Mr. Film, and at the independent exhibition space Basement 6 exhibition space for his work « Brulures » (2016). He lives between Shanghai and Paris, working on different commercial and personal projects.
Modern, CCP led China is constantly rewriting is past, while being conscious of its present through a restlessly evolving national narrative. Its odd relationship to Taiwan, for example, is a constant reminder of China’s paradoxes. Its alternative self, only 220 kilometers away.
The Chinese Communist Party put itself in an odd, indefensible position, where it considers Taiwan a Chinese province, but a province which has its own currency, passports, industry, and army. Taiwan, on the other hand, considers itself independent, and mainland China to still be occupied by the communists. A government in exile.
Some of the following images have been taken in China, while others on Kinmen, Taiwan’s closest territory, less than an hour’s boat from Xiamen, on the mainland. On this island, some abandoned bunkers still bear the marks of the conflicts which opposed the two Chinas, such as the three rules of engagement: “when you don’t shoot - when you’re not seeing, when it's out of range, when it's impossible to aim.” The giant speakers which used to blare anti-communist slogans across the strait are now visited by mainland Chinese tourists.
A common history, haunted by a common past, yet in a separate physical space.
Elements of Chinese history are forgotten, disappeared, re-thought and reintroduced to society, through an ever changing system where a version of the past writes a version of the present, itself at risk of changing in the future.
This work is an attempt at putting hauntology in images.
About author:
Raised in Paris, Gabriel has studied in international school in the French capital. There, he received a Bachelor’s in Sociology and Human Sciences in 2010. After working as a journalist in Photo Magazine, he left the French capital for London, U.K. in 2010, where he undertook an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.
There, he strayed from traditional journalism and explored different sides of documentary photography, and more concept driven bodies of work. After a year of working in a local paper and working on analogue based projects, he decided to try his luck in China, to broaden his horizon and collaborate with agency Transterra Media.
In Hangzhou, he was exhibited at the Alliance Française (French cultural center), worked for local magazines, and covered incredible China’s fake Paris for numerous publications including Ouest France, Vice France, Delayed Gratification in Europe throughout 2015 and 2016. He kept on learning Chinese and Japanese, until he moved to Shanghai. There, he worked for AFP Press agency and brands such as Beats by Dre, Tyson, MO&Co, and Holly Cato.
He works on projects mixing medias using writing, photography, and archives. He was exhibited at the Alliance Française in Hangzhou for his work « Frozen China » , Mr. Film, and at the independent exhibition space Basement 6 exhibition space for his work « Brulures » (2016). He lives between Shanghai and Paris, working on different commercial and personal projects.