A TOTAL of 13 series of photographic works were awarded at this year’s “My City My Town” annual photo exhibition.

    Two hundred and ten photographs taken by 20 photographers are now being exhibited at Guan Shanyue Art Museum since last Friday. The exhibition ends today.

    Most of the works have clear themes and focus on the city’s development, including positive portrayals of vibrant urban development as well as reflections on the city’s losses, according to the judging committee of the exhibition. “The works explore serious thinkings and emotions towards society and human beings,” one of the judges said.

    Nearly all the works tell stories of Shenzhen. Some witness the city’s major events and issues such as the development of Qianhai area and the transformation of Huaqiangbei area.

    Other works record some groups of people and their abnormal lives. For example, one of the works displays the hard life of families living in containers in Chiwan, Nanshan District, while another series tells the life experiences of parallel traders at Luohu Checkpoint.

    There are also stories of ordinary people, such as “Buses” and “Cell, City.”

    “This year’s competition is very intense. It is very difficult for our seven judges to choose which one to win. Votes for the photographic works of the year and newcomer award were very close, so we had to vote three rounds to make the final decision,” the judge said.

    Eventually, the “Pioneer Explorers of the New Special Economic Zone,” taken by Lan Jun and Cheng Jiang, became the photographic work of the year, while Zhang Zeyang, a student from the College of Mass Communication at Shenzhen University, became the newcomer of the year with his “Rented Container Home in Chiwan.”

    Cheng and Lan’s works record the first batch of pioneer explorers in the preliminary construction of Qianhai area. Among them, there are construction workers, cleaners, soldiers, security guards and young university graduates. “The works show the current problem in the city’s fast development with some comparisons of small people and great achievements. The grassroots people stand in the spotlight in the middle of a vast land in the evening, just like standing in the center of a glorious stage. However, these people are also those who will be abandoned in this glorious and fast development. Although the works may still need to be improved in some aspects, they still express these themes in a very powerful way, letting more people think about the city, the people and the development,” the judge said.

    Zhang’s winning was not an easy choice. It is the first time for the exhibition to offer a prize for new photographers, so the number of young applicants has increased sharply compared to previous years. “We eventually decided to give the award to Zhang because we think that his series of works introduce a brand-new photographic language. The ‘Rented Container Home in Chiwan’ also tells the story of Shenzhen from a very special and unique angle,” the judge said.

    In fact, this series of works was gained by accident. In 2012, Zhang went to Shekou Port and accidently found the area, which had 13 small residential houses rebuilt from containers and sheet iron houses. Some houses only covered about 5 or 6 square meters. About 40 people from Hunan, Sichuan and Chaozhou areas were living in the area, and most of these people were migrant workers, repairmen and salespersons working in neighboring areas.

    “As a young university student, Zhang set his eye on the daily lives and living conditions of a special group of people in the city. This is something which may be very difficult for ordinary people to discover. It shows his care for all of the people in the city,” the judge said.

    Another young photographer’s works, “To Be Continued,” also won high praise from the judges. The works were taken by Li Zhengdao, a young local photographer who won the photographic work of the year with his “New Chinese People” in 2009. Although this series shows more depth of thinking about life and the world than the “New Chinese People,” the judges decided not to give him the same award this year as they thought this series was a continuation of the “New Chinese People.”

    “However, it is still a nice thing for us to witness the city’s young photographers’ growth and pursuits, which is also the meaning of the annual exhibition,” the judge said.

    (Wang Yuanyuan)

    Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., through Oct. 24, closed Mondays

    Venue: Guan Shanyue Art Museum, 6026 Hongli Road, Futian District (福田区红荔路6026号关山月美术馆)

    Metro: Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit B