The Origin of Zheng Gu's Photography

Zheng Gu's love for photography can be traced back to his boyhood. One of his classmates had a camera at home, so he took it out for a group photo. Later, the group photo was not enough, so I simply put on the epaulettes and big hat of my classmate's father before the "Cultural Revolution", put on makeup and took photos of the design plot. Once, Zheng Gu put on makeup and filmed at a classmate's house. When it was time for lunch, the classmates ignored the meal and had to draw their faces and go home. It was awkward all the way. In order to play with the camera more conveniently, after graduating from high school, Zheng Gu simply went to work in the camera factory.

1In the middle and late 1980s, Zheng Gu became a member of the folk photography group "North River Alliance", which consciously took the city as its photography theme from the beginning. 1986, the "North River League" photo exhibition was held in an exhibition hall named "80 square meters" of the Workers' Club in Xicheng District, Beijing. In the preface to the exhibition drafted by Zheng Gu, there is such a declaration: "With eyes that no one can replace, we can know the world that everyone faces", "Look for color in black and white, movement in stillness, wholeness in parts, universe in life and eternity in an instant".

Critics, photographers, professors and curators, when asked how he ranked these identities, Zheng Gu replied: "Scholars rank first. Photography is an important part of my life, accompanying me anytime and anywhere. If I had to give up one, I would give up writing. If a person still has ambition to leave something behind, it should be what he saw and found. What is interesting is photography. "