Wei Jinchun’s photographic project "Tangshan City" explores the complex identity and history of Tangshan, China—a city shaped by the scars of the 1976 earthquake, industrial transformation, and social upheavals. Inspired by a visit to South Lake Park, a former mining area turned memorial site, Wei was moved to capture the city’s layered narrative. His year-long journey reveals a juxtaposition of resilience and fragility, from the haunting earthquake memorials to the scars of deindustrialization, as well as vibrant expressions of Tangshan’s people and culture. Through a blend of historical reflection and social realism, Wei’s lens captures the struggles, resilience, and evolving identity of Tangshan’s urban and rural landscapes.
Jinchun Wei, a masters student in the Department of Photography Art at Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, was born in Guangxi, China in 1995 and currently lives in Tianjin. His artistic creations cover photography, installation and performance art, exploring the history and reality of self, family and city. Wei Jinchun's works have won the Netherlands LensCulture Critics' Choice 2024 Award, the 5th 1839 Photography Award Excellence Award, the First Pixel Photography Book Award Annual Independent Photography Collection Finalist Award, the 13th Ant Photography Award Finalist Award, the 2024 Pingyao International Photography Exhibition School Outstanding Work Award and other domestic and international awards. His works are included in the annual exhibition of Münchner Kammerspiele x Der Greif in Germany, and he is working with Denmark's Snap Collective to promote the publication of the Tangshan photography album.