Zeng Yi's Photographic Ode to Rural China at Castello Visconteo

The Castello Visconteo in Pavia is hosting 'La Cina di Zeng Yi, immagini di un recente passato,' a retrospective of Chinese photographer Zeng Yi (born 1949 in Jinan, Shandong province). The exhibition, organized after Pavia's participation in the 2018 Jinan Biennale, presents black-and-white and color images capturing rural life in Shandong, focusing on elderly people and children in small villages. The works eschew chronological order to evoke an eternal present, depicting solitude, family bonds, and the harshness of life often accentuated by snow. Critic Antonella Palladino notes that Zeng Yi transcends neorealism by drawing on Confucian roots, lending a sacred quality to serene faces and social harmony. The exhibition runs at the Castello Visconteo's Musei Civici.