Chen Wei (b. 1980, China) is well-recognized for his photography work. As an artist living in Beijing, China, Chen observes the rapidly-changing landscapes in the country, and his art-making is influenced by his findings. His works often reveal people’s hope for a better life, in contrast with the reality that they face. This sense of duality is inherent in many of Chen’s works, such as a glowing light amidst a dark setting, or a contrast between objects with different properties.

Chen compares his photography work to oil paintings, or painting in a particularly classical style to depict the subject and convey a message. He hopes to highlight things that are most easily overlooked, such as a broken basketball hoop. To him, rather than focusing on how they are interrupted by external forces, he places importance on the experience of living with them. As a big basketball fan, Chen bears an emotional connection towards basketball courts, and feels a sense of loss when the court no longer functions as usual. But, letting go of the emotion, Chen relooks at the two-dimensional arena framed in this way, and there are more residual gestures that are revealed, including those that are imagined when one is confronted with it. But it all comes back to the relationship between this elongated ‘interrupted’ situation and human beings.