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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eight: Light and shadow shape meaning > Shadows at the corner, Shuhe, China, 2006
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31-MAR-2005

Shadows at the corner, Shuhe, China, 2006

These ancient buildings display strings of lanterns and golden signs -- a tell tale sign that they have been gentrified for touristic purposes. Yet the rhythms of early morning life on the streets of this village are authentic. The shadowy figures at right are farm workers who could well be figures right out of the 1930s. I was drawn to this subject by the play of color, light, and texture on the building, but it was only an exercise in form until the figures hurried past me into the deep shadows at right. Shadows within shadow, they become abstractions that prove timeless symbols.

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Phil Douglis19-Apr-2006 02:09
It happened so fast -- I was so taken by the color and the shadows on the building that I never saw those people coming until they entered the frame. I shot, and on examining my image, noticed the extent of what I had been able to express here: the lean of the lead figure, his vintage costume, and the feeling of history the figures evoked when played against that gentle glow in the shadows you mention.
Tim May19-Apr-2006 00:53
Again, I am seeing so much interaction between the ancient and modern - here the shadowy figures do seem to be out of the 30's but the gentle glow of the building behind them - also adds to the sense of a warm history.
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