Manyi
Chan.

Longtang is a unique form of housing in Shanghai, inseparable from the lives of millions of Shanghai citizens. Communities centred on a lane or several interconnected lanes, narrow and cramped, but always full of traces of living a life.

This is a diary with my observation of the field and the research of material, texture, functionality, and composition of the still life, which aims to present how these daily functional items in Longtang are being unconsciously organised in a way due to the living habits of the residents and environmental characteristics, which has also led to particular Eastern aesthetic ideas through my reading. Those circular shapes, potted plants, red basin, crystal-like clothing…It is incredible to see how people unintentionally create such beautiful frames, almost like a painting, in their ordinary life.


这里展示的是一些地域观察笔记，记录了我对上海弄堂中静物的材料、质地、功能性以及构图的研究，试图呈现弄堂居民在日常生活中如何在无意识中将这些日常功能性物品以某种方式组织起来。这种组织方式源于他们的生活习惯和所处的环境特征，也通过我的阅读引出了某种特有的东方美学理念。那些圆形的器物、盆栽植物、红色脸盆、水晶般的衣物……令人惊叹的是，人们在日常生活中不经意间创造出如此美丽的画面，几乎就像一幅幅山水画。