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Photographic Investigation Of China

“A Single Line is a photographic investigation of China’s rapidly altering landscape. The intention of the series is to explore the Chinese people’s tentative shift from a communist to a capitalist system, as seen though resource hungry push to modernize the countries rural and urban environments.”

Paul Batt

Interview with Paul Batt

Paul, in your most recent project “A Single Line” you are dealing with the rapid growth and urbanization of China. Why did you decide to take on this subject?

Much of China’s recent development has been fuelled by minerals from Australian mines and with Australia being my home country, I found it ironic that we were physically changing our own environment, in order to alter another. It was fortunate that while on a recent trip to China, I was able to document this rapidly evolving landscape, while also creating a kind of portrait of a country at a point of social upheaval and physical change.

At the beginning of each project one often has some kind of idea in mind as to what the result could be like. Sometimes that changes along the way and the result is quite different. Was that the case and if so what did you learn during the project?

Absolutely! With all of my work I start out with an idea and sometimes it’s not necessary concrete and just a vague feeling or sense of what a series could be. For me the process of photography is about exploring a rough idea to see whether it’s possible to bring that concept to fruition and hopefully create a fully realized work.