Wusheng's photographic portfolio of the Yellow Mountains will strike Western viewers at first glance as an appealing fusion of Ansel Adams and ink wash scrolls. Shot mostly in black and white, these images of dark craggy peaks floating in swathes of white mist combine stunning grandeur with a subtlety that rewards meditative viewing. There's more going on here than pretty nature photography: originally a physicist, Wang turned to photography after two years of 'reeducation' through hard labor during the Cultural Revolution. He began exploring the Yellow Mountains as an area not 'contaminated by human society.' Though deeply sensitive to tradition, the pictures have a unique and (at times) modern feel; when Wang heightens the contrast, he produces exquisite washes of darkness and light that compare compositionally to abstract paintings.
