Liu yun community
The most leisurely delivery rider
Zood
Fish bone
Random access memories
Dark snail
A complex and strange feeling
Dorment desire
The flower-centred world
The lost summer and dead poet
Day three with black butterfly
Curriculum Vitae
Photo Book
Contact
Email : dtt19940918@gmail.com
Instagram: screenshootor
©Tengteng Da
Photo Book
Contact
Email : dtt19940918@gmail.com
Instagram: screenshootor
©Tengteng Da
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。
A pivotal moment in my artistic development is captured in my first darkroom notebook. Inspired by a scene at Liuyun Wujie—a lawn with three coconut trees perpetually hung with drying quilts—I achieved a conceptual breakthrough. I transformed my darkroom process by integrating it with the subject itself, hanging my test strips like quilts on hand-drawn trees within the notebook. This act of merging photographic experimentation with drawing was an unprecedented personal experiment, the excitement of which remains vividly present.
Note
Upper section shows test strips with technical and contextual notes; lower section is the final silver gelatin print. Narrative constructed from sequences of 4-6 consecutive negatives.
地点：六运五街9号103
这一张在第一本暗房笔记中是前所未有的突破，我第一次开始尝试着在做暗房笔记的基础上加入绘画草图。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，只要一出太阳，三棵树之间的绳子上都挂满了被子。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。
注释：
上面的笔记上的内容是暗房放大生产的测试条，文本内容是对绘画以放大参数还有地点和事件的形容。
下方的长条图像为银盐放大的原作，在第一本暗房笔记中我选用了4-6张的连续底片来进行放大和叙事。
Location: Building 23, Liuyun 6th Street
This memory originates from a small room at Liuyun Liujie, where the luxury of a slow morning offered an unexpected gift: the composition of light. The autumn sun of Guangzhou, soft and distinct, pierced the window to illuminate the quilts and my feet. This was not merely light, but a tangible quality of warmth and season that has since informed my pursuit of capturing transient, sensory moments.
地点：六运六街23号楼
我暂住在朋友的一间房，周一休息的时候可以偶尔睡个懒觉。醒来之后太阳透过床边的窗帘射到被子和我的脚上，那是我第一次感受到广州秋日的阳光如此地柔软。
Entering through the north gate of Zhujiang Park, a small hill within the first 50 meters presented me with a grove of trees that seemed covered in watching eyes. Walking down the path, the scene resonated deeply with my own sense of isolation. Since the pandemic, my life has felt like one long descent, a journey that forced me away from my family, my partner, my friends, and my hometown, leading me to seek a new beginning here in Guangzhou.
地点：珠江公园
珠江公园北门进门口，前50m处有一个小山坡，小山坡上有很多长满眼睛的树，下坡的路上，感觉一切和我的处境似乎有点相似。自从新冠疫情之后，我的人生好想进入了一个长长的下坡路，我不得不离开我的家人、爱人和友人，离开我的故乡，来广州谋生。
Zhujiang Park is home to a thriving community of cats, who are cared for so well by the park staff that each one is plump and possesses a remarkable trust in humans. On any fine day, you can find them displayed in various corners of the park, each demonstrating a uniquely blissful sleeping posture.
地点：珠江公园
珠江公园有很多只猫猫，工作人员把他们喂养的很好，每一只都肥肥胖胖并且不怕人类。每次天气好的时候去都能看到很多猫猫在各个角落展示各种不同的睡姿。
Location: The Square behind Building 9, Liuyun 5th Street
In the square behind Building 9, Liuyun Wujie, around the Spring Festival, Charlie took us to the Snoopy Bar for drinks. The wind was strong that day, yet we were all still dressed for summer. I remember Jie's strikingly handsome smile, and Xingxing's expression which was so abstract she insists it was my photography that made it so. In a playful darkroom gesture, I physically spliced two of Jin's test strips together to 'add' to his height. And then there was Xixi, the leader of our pack, whom we affectionately called 'Crazy Boy'—a nickname whose origin now escapes me as time flies.
地点：六运五街9号楼背后的广场
春节前后查理带我们去后面的史努比酒吧喝酒，那一天风很大，大家的着装还停留在夏天。阿杰笑起来真的很帅。星星的表情有种难以形容的抽象，她说是我拍的抽象。我把jin的两个失调拼接在一起物理帮jin增加了他的身高。还有xixi，他是大部队的领头羊，我们亲切的叫他 crazy boy。时间过得好快，整理这些文字的时候我已经想不起来这个外号的的由来了。
My second darkroom notebook marks a significant methodological evolution. Moving beyond the purely documentary approach of the first volume, I began dissecting and re-contextualizing my test strips. In a project focused on a neighbor's plants, I excised individual leaves and re-assembled them with washi tape, intentionally preserving the tape's visual trace. This non-destructive technique establishes an iterative creative process, allowing for continuous revision and re-imagination of the content without compromising the integrity of the notebook itself.
地点：huge咖啡店后面一楼邻居的植物
这是第二本暗房笔记的内容，我开始不满足于第一本的单纯的对数据和记录。我希望把暗房留下来的试条进行裁切和再次拼贴，创造不属于文本，想象之外的内容。我把植物的叶子单独裁切出来，用纸胶带进行二次拼贴，并且保留纸胶带的痕迹。如果有一天我对笔记上的拼贴内容不满意可以在不会坏笔记本的同时进行修改
Behind the soccer field of Tiyu dong Primary School, an afternoon encounter with blinding backlight became the source of a new composition. I combined two ordinary negatives, cutting the test strips into minute fragments. Through collage, I used the image of the fence itself to construct a new, visionary form—a plant trunk embodying a pyramid. This act of re-creation from mundane materials is central to my practice.
Note
The top-left corner of the text shows a thumbnail sketch I made before the darkroom enlargement. The central section records the exposure time, aperture, filter grade, and adjustments made during the printing process.
地点：体育东小学足球场后面的栅栏
大约是在下午时分，我路过体育东小学后面的栅栏时，光线从对面射过来，刺得我的眼睛都睁不开。我把两张非常平常的底片组合在一起，这一次我我把试条剪成非常的小块，在进行拼贴。我感觉自己像是在用栅栏重新创造一个拥有金字塔的植物躯干。这个躯干支撑着我，我早上8点起床进暗房放大作品，中午12点开始上班，晚上8点下班之后继续整理今天上午放好的素材。
注释
文本左上角是我在暗房放大之前提前画出来的关于两张画面的略缩图，文本中间的内容是放大的时间，光圈和反差，以及每次调整变动的数据
The Heartfelt Flower Shop is directly across from 103, No. 9 Fifth Street. The owner, Brother Yong, is a young, thin man who is always so enthusiastic, so warm whenever we go to buy flowers. While I was composing this note, my mind suddenly wandered. I desired something in the physical dimension, something that would go beyond the text itself. I cut a piece of aloe into the shape of broccoli and pasted it onto the edge of the page. When scanning, I let the broccoli peek out; during ordinary flipping, it remains tucked away firmly behind the text of this page, a small Easter egg I left for myself.
地点：有心花店后面的窗台上
有心花店位于在五街9号103的正对面，老板勇哥是个年轻的瘦子，每次我们要去花店买花，他都很热情热情。我在制作这张笔记的时候，突然出了神，我想要物理层面上的超出文本之外的内容，我把芦剪成西兰花的形状，并且粘贴在文本的边缘，扫描的时候我把西兰花露了出来，平常翻阅的时候西兰花在本页文本的正后方牢牢的粘住，算是给自己留下一个小小的彩蛋。
Location: The private garden across from the fence behind Tiyudong Primary School's football field
This radio-palm leaf is deeply intertwined with my childhood memories. In my hometown, dried leaves like this were used by the elderly to make palm-leaf fans, a craft now practiced only by the oldest generation. I remember my grandfather frequently crafting such objects. The unused parts of the palm tree would serve as fuel to fire and soften bamboo joints, allowing him to create various chairs and beds. This leaf is not just an object, but a tangible link to his skills and a vanishing way of life.
地点：体育东小学足球场后面的栅栏对面的私人植物花园
这张放射性棕树叶，对我来说充满了小时候的回忆。在我们老家这种棕树叶干了之后可以用来制作蒲扇，只有家里的老人家才会制作和使用。记得小时候爷爷经常制作这一类器物，棕树没使用的材料可以用作燃料烤制竹子，软化竹子的关节，从而制作不同的椅子和床。
I captured a picture of this auntie mid-game at the community center's ping-pong table. I carefully cut out the strip of film that held her silhouette, and on the verso of the remaining fragment, I covered the space in a wash of shadow. The words I write here are a gift to myself: In the arena of final reckoning, this grandmother is transcending not merely the opponent before her—be it another grandmother or grandfather—but the very boundaries of her former self.
地点：六运四街的老年活动中心
我拍摄下这个正在社区活动中心打乒乓球的大妈。我把有大妈的试条剪出来，其他的部分反过来画满阴影。笔记上这句话是我送给自己的礼物，决战台上，这位奶奶超越的不仅仅是他对面的奶奶或者爷爷，他超越的更是他自己
©️Tengteng Da
2023-2025
Guangzhou,Guangdong,China
Changsha,Hunan,China