HanShun Zhou

Born and raised in Singapore, Zhou HanShun is a Photographic Artist and Art Director.

After graduating from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Singapore and RMIT University, he went on to make a living as an art director, and continues to pursue his passion as a visual storyteller and photographer.

He uses photography as a way to explore, investigate and document the culture and people in the cities he has lived in. Apart from discovering the aspects of everyday life, his work also seeks to explore the notion of spirituality and humanity in the urban environment. HanShun often photographs with intuition and creates work with a sense of spontaneity.

HanShun has exhibited at the Lishui Photography Festival (2019), Mt. Rokko International Photography Festival (2019), KG+ Kyotographie Satellite Event (2018), Tumbas Cultural Center in Thessaloniki, Greece for Photoeidolo (2017), the Molekyl Gallery in Sweden, for the Malmo Fotobiennal (2017), the Gallery under Theater in Bratislava, Slovakia for The Month of Photography Bratislava(2017), the Czech China Contemporary Museum in Beijing for the SongZhuang International Photo Biennale(2017), the PhotoMetria “Parallel Voices” exhibition in Greece (2016), the Addis FotoFest in Ethiopia (2016), among others.

HanShun was awarded 3rd Prize at the Mt. Rokko International Photography Festival (2019), a Special Mention at the Balkan Photo Festival (2016), Shortlisted for the Hariban Award (2019, 2018 and 2017), and was a finalist of Photolucida Critical Mass (2016), among others.

Once Upon The Sea

Two Chinese characters make up the name of Shanghai, 上 (shàng, “upon”) and 海 (hǎi, “sea”), together meaning “Upon-the-Sea”.

In the process of modernisation to become one of the global financial centres, the Longtang communities of narrow interconnected passageways in this old city of Shanghai are fast being replaced with high-rise apartments and shopping malls.

I first came to Shanghai in 2012 and was surprised to see how modern this city is. But to really understand this city, I decided to find and explore its original way of life. To wander in these Longtang neighbourhoods, is to experience the authentic way of living in this city, before it disappears.

To view more of HanShun Zhou’s work please visit his website.