The bubble finally burst and millions of square metres of land were left unfinished. In 1998, in Hainan alone, a combined floor space of 16,3 million square metres were aborted or left unfinished. This wave of abortive building construction spread across other Asian cities which were also experiencing meteoric economic growth. People in China termed these projects lan wei lou, "lan" meaning "decaying", or "rotting" while "wei" is "the tail", "the ending". Therefore, lan wei means more than just "unfinished".
For some reason or another, it wasn't possible to complete these "lou" ["buildings"]. There were simply no solutions or closure. In time, the concept of lan wei extended beyond building projects. It became synonymous with anything that is aborted while in progress, for reasons unknown. These photos by Hong Kong-based artist anothermountainman attempt to capture the relics of this mad "gold rush" and, at the same time, reflect on how, throughout the years, lan wei has manifested itself not only in building projects but also in all aspects of life.
Photography is the key medium of anothermountainman's work. During the making of Lanwei he incorporated both documentary photography and staged photography to represent these buildings. The former captures lan wei buildings' physical manifestations — they are perplexing, abandoned, and often out of synch with the surrounding environment. The artist also attempts to reveal the internal layer of the structure: the investor's dream of the past now left broken, leaving only traces of decay; or the people moving inside the spaces, giving it a brand new lease of life. On the other hand, in staged scenes, the artist creates his own imagined stories around the lan wei site using locals, actors and dancers.
The artist also attempts to reveal the internal layer of the structure: the investor's dream of the past now left broken, leaving only traces of decay; or the people moving inside the spaces, giving it a brand new lease of life
The Lanwei project was exhibited in Hong Kong's Blindspot Gallery and the Blindspot Annex, showing over 40 selected works to conclude anothermountainman's six–year–long journey through Asia before continuing to The West, where the global financial crisis has spawned a new generation of lan wei... Mimi Gradel, Blindspot Gallery Director
