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Ye Chuan

Series 09 · The bones of the city

Light and Line

2020–2025 · 6 frames · Chengdu

Chengdu’s architecture and sky. Curves, the colour of wood, a shaft of light slanting in. No people, just the skeleton of the city.

When I can’t find anyone I want to photograph, I start photographing light. The same wall is a different place in the morning and in the afternoon.

Most of this series was shot indoors. A few frames were made on the way home, when I looked up and the sky stopped me.

Indoors

A wooden spiral staircase lit from the side by a single beam of light
▸ 01Art museum · June 2024
A dark curved timber ceiling above a railing in shadow
▸ 02Art museum · June 2024
Sunlight through a blue curtain, laying one stripe of light across a rough wall
▸ 03Afternoon · August 2023

Outdoors

A giant panda-shaped sculpture at night, its reflection in the water
▸ 04Plaza at night · April 2025
Under a pale grey sky, a TV tower rising from a sea of apartment blocks
▸ 05Rooftop · March 2021
The side of a building hung with layers of shop signs and plants
▸ 06Old street · October 2020