West Lake (Xi Hu), Hangzhou, China (5-panel), 1994
"My subject is landscape as culture. What I am trying to reveal through photography in a deliberate, yet subtle way is a sense of history. I want my photographs to describe my relationship to both the tangible and the imagined, to fact and fiction."
Lois Conner is a New York-based photographer that travels the world with a 7”x17” banquet camera. For almost 50 years, her work’s elongated format has explored landscapes and the spirit of the times. This unique format pays homage to classical scroll painting and cinematic form. Conner’s vision is contemporary with a “long view” depicting timelessness and the moment simultaneously. Conner works as an artisan. Every element of her work entails handmade prints requiring impressive techniques of platinum printing. Recently, Conner has used digital technologies to broaden the format of her work and embody both natural and man-made landscapes. Since 1984, She has traveled annually to Chin. Through these trips, she has been able to follow the shift within the People’s Republic and portray her personal understanding of the country’s evolving urban and rural mien; while also exploring the vistas inspiring China’s extortionary culture.