“I document the changes and the current situation of Beijing and the feelings of the people who reside here. Changes in China are happening so fast and in so many directions and different ways. I try to counter this fast-pace and encapsulate a moment in time in the lives of my subjects in a natural and organic manner. The pose, the location, the clothing, the time of day, is all very natural, I do not suggest anything to change the situation at all, they just happen out of a need to capture a moment more than from a desire to plan and control." -Ma Te (China, B. 1984). This work measures 23.6 x 31.5 inches (60 x 80 cm) is an edition 2 of 10, and is in excellent condition.
"Back Alley Series No. 2" (2011) is a dynamic figurative black and white photograph by one of the most notable and exciting emerging Chinese photographers working today, rising star Ma Te. This work belongs to the artist's ongoing "Back Alley" series of stunning images that document the many hidden alleyways and life behind the main streets of Beijing, and the women that live and occupy these hidden locales. This is part of his large documentation of the incredible diversity among the 'everyday' women that reside in the urban metropolis of Beijing, the city where Ma lives and works. The women, immortalized in Ma Te’s photos are strangers to him, most are random inhabitants of Beijing, China. Ma selects his models at will, they could be someone he meets at a subway station or crossed paths with on the street. Their is no pre-existing relationship between Ma Te and his subjects. They wear their own clothes and strike their own poses. The girls in his photographs, as Te Ma himself states, are just one of the over 20,000,000 people presently living in Beijing. This photograph is unframed and in pristine condition. From an edition of just 10.
The artist (Born to Chinese parents in 1980 in Unna, Germany) first picked up a camera less than a decade ago. He received his formal education with a degree in 2003 at Dortmund University of Fine Arts and in 2005 he moved to China as an exchange student at the Tsinghua University. This is astounding, when one looks at the incredible series of figurative photographs that are just now starting to gain attention in Asia and Europe from his "City View" and "Beijing Lover" Series', to which this work belongs. The feel of the photographs change from series to series influenced by a wide range of figural photographers including Zhang Huan, Zang Dali, Helmut Newton, Youssef Nabil, Jock Sturges, Nan Goldin, Larry Clark, Terry Richardson and David LaChapelle, amongst others. The artist lives and works in China.
