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An eerie photo series from Greenpeace shows how alienated humans are from nature
By Echo Huang
July 21, 2018
The idea of looking at how animals live in a zoo is normal to us, but what if we let animals observe the way we live?
A Chinese photographer is exploring the question through photos that show a man dressed as a penguin roaming around China’s capital, Beijing.
Trunk Xu, one of China’s most renowned magazine photographers, took the photos in May as part of a global campaign by non-profit organization Greenpeace supporting the establishment of an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary to ban fishing activities there. Twenty-five countries and regions will come to a final decision on the proposal in October.
Xu wanted the penguin to observe conflict and disharmony between nature and the artificial world, he told Quartz. Here are a selection of the 18 photos he took:
TRUNK XU
This corner in a park says a lot about China, Xu said. It shows a typical daily routine of a retired man, who visits a park and sings Beijing opera while playing an urhu, a traditional string instrument, inside a pavilion. There’s a skyscraper in the distance.
TRUNK XU
The penguin man experiences modern gardening techniques, which Xu said is an artificial beauty.
TRUNK XU
This photo shows a hutong, a traditional courtyard residential compound in Beijing. CCTVs are also visible.
TRUNK XU
The penguin man visits a thermal plant which provides heating for the city.
TRUNK XU
This picture showing the penguin man standing on a construction site shows how development is constant in Beijing, said Xu. The green sheets covering the mounds of sand resemble man-made mountains.
TRUNK XU
The penguin man stays the night in an apartment.
TRUNK XU
Taking guests for a nice meal, like Beijing hotpot, is a basic gesture of hospitality.
TRUNK XU
Having a penguin sit in a taxi with a “typical Beijinger” shows how arrogant and domineering humans are against nature. “I think humans and animals do not share equal rights,” said Xu.
QZ.com
