Yuheng Zhu Photography Portfolio 2017

TEARS IN RAIN

Yuheng Zhu

I

IN PRAISE OF LIGHT & SHADOW Shadow is a perfect replication of our world, but it is also intangible and ephemeral.

Shadow is a two-dimensional form of objects’ existence; it is surreal. Yet shadow is interdependent with light, an equally interesting mundane life detail. Light itself is already intriguing, but in some situations, minutiae in daily life can also be metaphor of light, and those little glowing moments in life are incredibly soothing.

Light and shadow can be poetic and tranquil, delicate and quiet, and are powerful mediums for questioning and reflecting on identity, and existence.

My four months’ studying time in Rome and traveling around Italy gives me lots of inspirations. Here, luxuriant heritages of antiquity neutralize with the modernity, and even soften the light. Sometimes I feel the light and shadow are subtler in Rome than in other metropolitan cities. The abundant Renaissance paintings in Rome also inspire me with their extraordinary Chiaroscuro technique (an oil painting technique of using strong tonal contrasts between light and dark).

This photo album is created for the ART1602 Intro to Photography class, Cornell in Rome.

The first section is an independent project about light and shadow.

The second section is a collection of other photos took during the semester.

Cornell in Rome, Fall 2017 | ©Yuheng Zhu

La Mortella, Ischia Sep 21, 2017

Biennale Arte 2017, Venice Oct 7, 2017

Brion Cemetery, San Vito d’Altivole Sep 12, 2017

American Academy, Rome | Nov 7, 2017

National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome | Sep 15, 2017

Villa d’Este, Tivoli | Nov 4, 2017

Via di S. Anna, Rome | Oct 25, 2017

Villa d’Este, Tivoli | Nov 4, 2017

Chiesa dell’Autostrada, Campi Bisenzio | Oct 22, 2017

Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli | Nov 4, 2017

Palazzo Santacroce, Rome | Nov 10, 2017

Protestant Cemetery, Rome | Sep 26, 2017

Via di S. Anna, Rome | Oct 25, 2017

Villa d’Este, Tivoli | Nov 4, 2017 Via di S. Anna, Rome | Oct 25, 2017

Centro Pecci, Prato | Oct 22, 2017

MAXXI, Rome | Oct 24, 2017

“If light is scarce, then light is scarce; we will immerse ourselves in the darkness and there discover its own particular beauty.” — Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, In Praise of Shadows

MAXXI, Rome | Oct 24, 2017

“All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.�

II

LIFE IN ITALY During the time I study in Italy, I always take my camera with me. Whereas my photo album is not merely a documentation of my life; it is a confession of how I view the world. I indeed frame the world I see from my very personal perspective.

This reminds me of Claude Lévi-Strauss‘ quote from Chateaubriand in his book Tristes Tropiques: “Every man carries within himself a world made up of all that he has seen and loved; and it is to this world that he returns, incessantly, though he may pass through and seem to inhabit a world quite foreign to it.”

— François-René de Chateaubriand

Cornell in Rome, Fall 2017 | ©Yuheng Zhu

Ristorante Shangai, Siena | Oct 22, 2017

Hard Rock Cafe, Florence | Oct 21, 2017

Stazione Marittima, Salerno | Sep 25, 2017

Duomo di Milano, Milan | Sep 7, 2017

Duomo di Milano, Milan | Sep 7, 2017

Biennale Arte 2017, Venice | Oct 7, 2017

Biennale Arte 2017, Venice | Oct 7, 2017

Stazione Marittima, Salerno | Sep 25, 2017

Anonymous Church, Rome | Sep 19, 2017

San Lorenzo Market, Florence | Oct 21, 2017

Piazza Vittorio, Rome | Oct 17, 2017

Thanks for reading.

YZ DESIGN