scott groeniger

Using textures and abstractions photographed in China, I am examining the present culture and lifestyle of the ancient cradle of Chinese civilization which is Shanxi Province and the current cultural and political cradle which is Beijing. Shanxi Province has a deep and rich cultural history that is thousands of years old. Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, has recently emerged as a major industrial city, fueling the growth of China with much needed energy resources. The entire body of images weave together images of fragments and pieces from the present and the past found in these two extraordinary, historically significant places in China. The entire body of work ultimately suggests a rich cultural past overlaid on a future which is both full of challenges and hope as China transitions into an international super power.

The images in the series 40-60 are constructed from photographs made while I was
working in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, China in 2005. The titles refer to the way in
which the people I met discussed the current opinion of Mao. When I would ask about
how they viewed the current influence of Mao, an over arching generalist response was
“60% good and 40% bad.” I reversed those numbers by then end of my time in Taiyuan,
as I became increasingly aware of the impending eco-disaster there.
Taiyuan City is first in terms of cities with the worst air quality on earth mostly due to the
emissions generated by coal burning power plants. Additionally, it has one of the highest
ratios of actual to potential desert on earth. Taiyuan has about 3.5 million people living
there, it is very quickly running out of water and is on the verge of becoming one of
China’s worst eco-disaster that no one has ever heard of. Despite all this, Taiyuan
continues to build.

A collaborative series of drawings with Kirsten Rae Simonsen about the perils of domesticity.