Ian Teh talks about his new book on China: Traces

Ian Teh has been photographing China for over ten years, long before the tsunami of photographers arrived to photograph the rapidly changing industrial landscape and the rise of the glittering Olympian power.

He began exploring the emerging industrial power in "The Vanishing: Altered Landscapes and Displaced Lives" [1999 -2003] where he recorded the impact the construction of the Three Gorges Dam had upon both the landscape of the Yangtze River and the population who lived alongside its river bank.

Drawn to the rich visual expression of China's booming economy, Ian continued to photograph its expansion, looking at the darker aspects of China's rapid growth. As Evan Osnos, the New Yorker China correspondent has written, Ian photographs "The roots of the economic miracle, the elemental mix of earth and sweat and smoke".

In his book "Traces" Ian brings together two distinct series which together show us the overlapping realities of the people and the spaces they inhabit. "Dark Clouds" is an intimate set of portraits of the workers living in the hinterland,along with scenes of their workplaces, forgotten by a society enthralled by the success of their country. The second section "Traces" offers a collection of industrialised landscapes. Devoid of people, these photographs are almost abstract in their bleak, dusty outlook, marking the scars of a ruthless ambition for unfettered progress.

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