zhenjie dong: QR code photo critique of chinese censorship

‘QR’ series, 2011 by zhenjie dong

chinese-born and savannah, georgia, USA-based artist zhenjie dong has created the photographic series ‘QR’. the artist, who studied english language and literature at the communication university of china and currently studies photography at savannah college of art and design, designed the series in a traditionally chinese minimalistic aesthetic. each image features plants, people and every day objects with a red quick response code (QR) incorporated into each piece. when the module, two-dimensional barcode is scanned with a device containing a QR reader, current information pertaining to the social and political issues of contemporary china appears on the individual’s screen.

‘china is a country that has a long history and a rich cultural heritage. contemporary china, however, faces many problems, including political corruption, social injustice, wealth segregation and web censorship. while the major government controlled media is still celebrating the happy life of chinese people under the rule of the government, people ridicule authority and reveal the reality they see through the internet. this series intends to address the social issues that china faces but which are currently being covered up by the chinese government… I photograph traditional chinese flowers and plants, which refer to the pursuit of moral spirit in ancient china and with the links, [reveal] the corruption, scholar plagiarism and a list of blocked websites.‘ -zhenjie dong

‘untitled’, 2011

via feature shoot / hey, hot shot!

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