Yan Wang Preston launches new book

Former artist-in-residence Yan Wang Preston launches her new book Forest at the Photographers' Gallery in London on the 10th May.

In order to make their environments more suitable for living, many expanding Chinese cities are buying mature trees to ‘build’ forests. Tree dealing has become a boom industry, with prices increasing in relation to the rarity and age of the tree in question. The outcome is as predictable as it is tragic: many trees struggle to survive in the new concrete forests. As early as 2011, Yan had begun to photograph these newly ‘built’ urban forests, documenting their growth by making repeated visits.

Mass urbanisation is happening in China and many other developing countries. How do we understand the conflicts between the expansions of cities and the need to protect existing ecologies? And how do we understand the difficulties and possibilities of establishing new ecologies in cities? Yan Wang Preston hopes that her Forest project will encourage dialogues on these important and timely questions.

The project Forest has been awarded the 1st prize in the Professional Commission of the 2017 Syngenta Photography Award.

Venue: The Photographer's Gallery, 16 – 18 Ramillies Street, London, W1F 7LW

Launch: May 10, 6 - 8 p.m.

See more about this project on Yan Wang Preston's Website: www.yanwangpreston.com.