Tengteng Da

  • Liuyun community


Liuyun community, a photographic journey





In August 2023, I wrapped up a decade of work in Changsha and moved to Liuyun Community in Guangzhou. Even though Guangzhou is this super diverse and international city, my world kinda just revolves around Liuyun. Every day, I'm running back and forth between the darkroom on No. 23, 7th Street and No. 9, 5th Street in Liuyun, and my photography is all mixed up with the life of the community. I'm able to capture all this because of the Olympus Pens half-frame camera Charles gave me. It's like I'm just watching and taking pictures of how people live and what they see as beautiful in Liuyun. After 15 months of being all up in this community's business, the project is done, and it's time for a new chapter.

At first, I just wanted to see how I could mix photography with my own stuff by taking pictures of how I work in the darkroom. As I kept taking pictures, I started drawing little stick figures in my darkroom notes. I didn't have a lot of imagination or drawing skills, but it was a way to add something extra to how I was recording things. The thing that really got to me was this picture I put on the lawn across from the darkroom with all these quilts on it. There's this big lawn at the entrance of No. 9, 5th Street in Liuyun with three coconut trees. They're like the sun catchers for the whole community. As soon as the sun comes out, people hang their quilts on the ropes between the trees. I put my test strips on the coconut trees I drew, like they were quilts. It was something I'd never done before, and it still makes me excited.

In my second darkroom notebook, I played around more with collage. I cut up the test strips I didn't want to use and painted on top of them. These pictures came from what people did every day in the community, but they also showed what I was doing in the darkroom. Trying to figure out what was going on in the community and looking really hard at the place I lived made me think differently about making art. I used to be all about finding new things in different places and going after something that wasn't really there. When my friends would come visit the darkroom, they'd say, "You're still taking pictures in Liuyun Community?" And I'd be like, "Yeah, I'm still at it."

These notebooks are like a diary of making art with the stars and my journey between Changsha and Guangzhou. They're a part of how I make art, and the whole Liuyun Community project not only took up the last 15 months but is also a big deal in my art career. To me, it's like trying something real and seeing what happens. It's like the lady playing ping-pong in the community center who beats herself instead of the guy or gal across from her. She beats herself.

This project, with 15 months of pictures and thoughts about making art, is definitely something special. It's not just about me and Liuyun Community, but it also shows how I grew and learned about art. Keep making art and trying new things, and I know you'll make more amazing stuff. Think about showing these pictures to more people in exhibitions or in books so they can see how people live in Liuyun Community and how you look at things. Keep feeling what's going on around you and making art because you love it, and try new ways and ideas. Your art journey is going to be awesome.

六运小区

2023年8月10日，我结束了在长沙长达10年之久的工作和生活，来到了广州六运小区。尽管广州是一座多元文化的国际性大都市，但我的生活几乎只停留在六运小区。每天在六运7街23号楼和5街9号的暗房之间来回穿梭，我的摄影和小区的生活几乎是同步联结。一切都得益于查理所赠的奥林巴斯的pens半格相机，我得以以一个观察者的视角，记录下六运小区的社会景观和日常美学。经过15个月的兜兜转转，这一项目初步宣告结束，对我来说也是一个全新的篇章。

项目的初衷在于通过暗房工作流程的文献记录，尝试探索摄影和个人实践的融合。随着记录的深入，我逐渐将简笔画加入到暗房笔记中，凭着我仅有的想象力和绘画技术。以此作为单一记录方式的补充。让我记忆最深刻的是，当我放到暗房对面的草坪上晒满被子的那一张。六运五街9号门口有一个大大的草坪，草坪上有三棵椰子树。它们每天担任着整个小区被子晾晒大使的重任，只要是一出太阳，三棵树之间的绳子上满满的都挂满了被子。我把试条当成被子晾挂在我画的椰子树上，对我来说这是一次前所未有的的尝试，持续的兴奋在今天依旧。

在第二本暗房笔记中，我进一步尝试了拼贴的可能性，我把舍不得用的试条全都剪下来，在拼贴的基础上再进行绘画。这些作品不仅汲取自小区的日常生活，更是我对自己暗房工作的梳理和反思。对未知生活的探索和对熟悉环境的深度挖掘，我的创作心态经历了显著的变化。以前总是抱着猎奇的心态，想要去不同的地方发现不同的东西，去追寻一种虚无缥缈。朋友们每次来暗房探班的时候总说：“还在拍六运小区呀！”“是的是的，还在进行中。”

这些笔记中，记录了与星星共同创作的时刻，以及我往返于长沙和广州之间的生活轨迹。它们也成为了我创作中的一部分，整个六运小区的项目不仅占据了过去15个月的时间线，更在我的艺术生涯中占据了重要位置。对我来说，这是一次实实在在的实践和探索。就像是社区活动中心的乒乓球场上打球的大妈，她超越的永远不是她对面的大爷或者大妈，她超越的是她自己。






















































































































©️Tengteng Da

 2023-2025

 Guangzhou,Guangdong,China

 Changsha,Hunan,China



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Email : dtt19940918@gmail.com

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 Tengteng Da