Zhang Dali, A Second History

A Second History

Zhang Dali

Publisher
Bywater Bros. Editions
Year
2012
ISBN
9780920293867
Specifications
Softcover
136 pages
Edition of 1000
9.5 x 6.5 inches / 24.1 x 16.5 cm
Colour cover and inner pages
Lynn Valley 7
Co-published with Presentation House Gallery
26 copies include a special edition by the artist
Edited by Roger Bywater and Reid Shier
Designed by Roger Bywater

Examines the widespread use of photographic manipulation carried out by a state government during a decades-long regime. Using a compare-and-contrast format, this work presents a chronological sequence of original, unmodified frames together with their doctored counterparts, manipulated in party-run labs across three decades for the domestic propaganda market. Scanning the spreads one can see the modifications made by the censors: in some frames key people have been erased, while in others people have been added; backgrounds have been altered and written slogans on flags changed. In other pairings the edits appear almost unnoticeable, as in a spread of women harvesting hay in a field, where the undoctored negative shows a young child peeking out from behind a cluster of busy workers, a detail felt to be at odds with the official line and struck from the record. Unlike those who used the medium as a tool for indoctrination, this use of it is more subjective: the core of the presentation is the manipulation itself, with all its associated political, social and artistic implications.

More from Bywater Bros. Editions

Spine Index, an archive of independent photobooks

FIND A
BOOK
/ /
If you leave this unticked you are logged out when you close the browser, or after 12 hours without activity. Cookies and privacy.
/
one year, or a range like 2015-2020
one or more, separated by commas
full or partial
a name, or design: / text: / edited: / translation: and a name

ARCHIVE

Loading…

PUBLISHER

#

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

V

W

X

Y

Z

ABOUT

The project

SpineIndex is an archive of independent books on photography and visual culture: photobooks, publications, design books and self-published editions — the kind of work that rarely makes it into bookshop windows or mainstream catalogues. It exists to document, connect, and keep visible a world of publishers, artists, and makers who operate outside conventional distribution. A living reference for anyone who takes this territory seriously — collectors, researchers, students, and the simply curious.

Images and rights

Covers, interior pages and descriptions are shown to introduce and identify the books, always crediting publisher, author and photographer and linking back to the publisher. We ask publishers for their permission, and we remove anything on request within 7 days. If you are a publisher, an author or a photographer and you want something changed or removed, write to info@spineindex.it.