Three photographers in their thirties dream of China in their own way. Two Dutch men and a Chinese woman. One lives in China, two in The Netherlands. The Chinese is here, the Dutch is there. The third Dutch goes back and forth. The Chinese speaks Dutch, the Dutch Chinese. All show the China of today, dream or reality? Xu, XiaoXiao was already the Coup de ❤️ of last years’s Breda festival [see my post of 19 September 2020] with her series “Watering my Horse by a Spring at the foot of the Long Wall”… a walk with her along the great wall of China, meeting the people that are born, live, work and die in its shadows. The two Dutchmen are two Ruben… Ruben Terlou has multiple talents: a medical doctor by profession, speaking fluent Mandarin, a master at interviewing people with an infinite compassion, a talented document maker and photographer. He has ravished us with his VPRO series “Langs de oevers van de Yangtze“, Door het hart van China“, “Chinese Dromen” and more recently “De wereld van de Chinezen”. Ruben Lundgren is a photographer based in Beijing. All three show their China dreams in an exhibit at the beautiful old town hall of Hilversum turned into a museum. Small scale exhibit but wide reach. Three sensitivities echoing each other, a ravishment for the eyes and a marvellous view into a dreamed China.

©Xu Xiaoxiao
©Xu Xiaoxiao
©Xu Xiaoxiao
©Xu Xiaoxiao
©Ruben Terlou
©Ruben Terlou
©Ruben Lundgren
©Ruben Lundgren
©Ruben Lundgren