Interview with Fan Li

In our latest interview we chat with Fan Li, a Chinese photographer whose work focuses on culture and civilization in countries along the Silk Road. Li has been awarded multiple times in the Sony World Photography Awards - his most recent achievements include winning 3rd Place in the Landscape category in 2024 as well as winning 1st Place in the Architecture & Design category in 2023. 

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a photographer with 45 years of experience in photography and 39 years of experience in photography education. In fact, I did not major in photography, as I was a sports major in college. I was China's athlete at national level, and I broke the provincial hurdles record. Later, I switched to teaching, and was once obsessed with the traditional Chinese root carving art - my root carving works have won the national gold medal. Photography is my hobby, which I have loved since I was a child.

Later, it became my career and pursuit, as I became a photography teacher in a university. So far, I have been pursuing photography creation while engaging in photography education. I have explored various categories of photography and won some recognition, including the highest individual achievement award in China's photography -- the China Photography Golden Statue Award, the Gold medal of China National Photography Art Exhibition, the Gold medal of International Press Photo Competition (Huasai), and the first prize of People category of National Geographic Global Photo Contest.

Your work focuses on culture and civilization in countries along the Silk Road, their livelihood, ethnicity and religion. What initially drew you to this vast topic?

Xi'an is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and I’ve been living in the city of Xi'an. As a photographer, I want to start from Xi'an and use photography to connect the Silk Road, recording and presenting the civilization and national culture of the regions and countries along the ancient Silk Road. At the beginning, I focused on photographing western China, and I was particularly interested in the ethnic cultures and people's livelihood in western China. In recent years, I travelled abroad and begun to photograph the countries and cultures along the Silk Road, using my camera and lens to see, explore, record and express. The world today is experiencing war, conflict and turmoil, and much of these sufferings is due to misunderstanding and hatred. I hope that my Silk Road photographs will enable more people to see places they would not normally visit, and help people in different countries and regions to increase understanding, enhance communication and promote tolerance and inclusion.

As a Professor of Shaanxi Normal University, what trends are you seeing in photography?

The current development of world photography requires the construction of new photography concepts. We have to think about what kind of images to record this era, what kind of images to use, what kind of techniques to carry out new image interpretation. I think these days we experience an era of cross-border integration and multi-expression, so that the image presents multi-dimensional and multi-perspective subjective expression as well. In the process of subjective expression, we need to make experimental breakthroughs based on traditional images, to subvert, to evolve, and to find a new kind of expression, which has both traditional recording elements and new presentation methods of personal subjective expression. Such an image must be both subjective and objective, that is, a subjective image based on an objective image, generating a new context.

You’ve had more than 30 exhibitions of your work both in China and worldwide. What advice would you give to photographers wanting to throw their first show?

By holding exhibitions to show their works and get attention, young photographers can communicate with their peers and the audience, which is very helpful for their growth. The exhibition is an art form produced by a photographer's dedication and understanding of photography, and it is a systematic and all-round project. Photographic works hanging on the wall is not a simple thing, which requires the photographer to not only have the concept of shooting, but also have a high degree of awareness and understanding of photography. Only through a clear and complete creative process can an exhibition be done well.

Who or what are your biggest influences?

When you have a deep understanding of history, religion, as well as the history of photography and art, you will realize that the creation of photography is difficult and challenging. Many masters of photography have had a great impact on the history of photography, and their works have left a precious visual heritage for later generations. In the process of learning photography and creative growth, I also learned a lot from the works of these photographers, such as Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Marc Riboud, Steve McCurry, and so on.

Are there any up-and-coming Chinese photographers whose work has caught your eye recently?

As China continues to communicate with the outside world in photography, emerging photographers in China also continue to rise. For example, Zhang Kechun, Chu Weimin and so on, these young photographers, while inheriting traditional photography, also have a unique and profound vision.

Over the past decade you’ve been awarded and shortlisted multiple times in the Sony World Photography Awards, winning the Professional competition’s Architecture & Design category in 2023. What advice would you give to photographers entering the competition?

Young photographers should have the courage to participate in the competition, but they can not follow the successful photographers and their works simply by learning and imitating. They must have their own unique thinking, and can not be limited to objective records, but to carry out personalized subjective expression.

What are you working on currently?

At present, I am still continuing on my project of 'Silk Road Images'. I continue to shoot, to record the images of the Silk Road in a more complete, systematic and diversified way, so that more people can further understand the cultural features of the Silk Road through my photographic works. I would also like to see more photographers involved in this topic.
 

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