A priest attends a funeral. Qishan county, June, 1997 [China.org.cn]

Photographer:

Yang Yankang was born in Anshun County, Guizhou province in 1954 and currently lives in Shenzhen. He is a freelance photographer and a member of the French photography agency VU. He has exhibited in many parts of the world including Taiwan, Germany and Tokyo. His works on Tibetan Traditional Buddhism were exhibited at the Shanghai Fine Arts Museum in 2007. He was awarded the "Shafei Award" in the same year. 50 of his works have been bought by the Guangdong Fine Arts Museum.

 

Yang Yankang's "Catholicism in the Countryside" expresses three important messages. Firstly, that Chinese people are able once again to practice religion as the old nationalist ideology fades. Secondly, Catholicism in the countryside is markedly different from traditional local culture, which shows growing cultural tolerance and acceptance of diversity. Thirdly, Yang retains his idealism and expresses it through his precise and penetrating pictures. (Curator: Liu Shuyong)