Changing Realities: Vietnam, China and Tibet

British photographer, documenter, traveler, and adventurer Edward Longmire will open his photo exhibition called "Changing Realities: Vietnam, China and Tibet" in Gallery U Prstenu on Jilská Street in Prague. Visions of Tibet explore street life, village life, landscapes and the indigenous dwellings in the country. The section called Chinese and Tibetan Landscapes focuses on one particular aspect from the same journey, beginning at the Chinese border and continuing down through to Nepal. Vietnam depicts a journey from north to south, and examines the way the country is changing rapidly due to globalization.

The developing world is undergoing a transformation at a speed that has previously never been experienced. Formerly repressed economies have appeared to compete on the world stage larger than life, driven by individual governments or global forces to compete on the world stage. This contemporary phenomenon has, in turn, generated far-reaching social and cultural changes, whether voluntary or not.

Through a perspective garnered by a number of visits to Asia, Edward Longmire has been encountering and documenting these changes firsthand. Whether examining subtle or rampant manifestations of global capitalism, the sheer diversity in Longmire's portfolio repeatedly proves the point that time waits for no one.

Tibet has only recently started its metamorphosis, aided-or otherwise-by China; Vietnam is undergoing a more liberalized transformation, deluged by Western consumerism; and the shimmering cityscapes of the newly constructed Shanghai skyline tell their own story.

Each country has its own manifestation of the same condition, coming from different cultural traditions and physical landscapes.

"This exhibition, on a macrocosmic level, reveals three quite distinct faces of the globalization process: the economic transformation of China, the socio-cultural pivotal point of Vietnam, and the marginalization of Tibet," said Beth Lazroe, curator for the photo exhibition and professor of visual communication about the exhibition.

"Edward Longmire's images from these three countries force us, as Western viewers, to consider seriously the implications of this system in its present form in terms of its impact on traditional and indigenous cultures, as well as on our own lives and beliefs. Edward Longmire has taken a multi-genre approach that uses an "outsider" status with effectiveness and integrity - Tibet with landscape and documentary, Vietnam with its layers of portraiture and modern urban still lifes, and China with its urban scenes. Through these, he draws us into the ‘Changing Realities' that are the title of this exhibition," she continued.