Horizon by Zhang O, 2004

photo credit: http://web.mac.com/zhang_o

Here in America, we don't really think about single-child policies or how westernization is affecting our future. Heck, we are the west. We rule the world! So what happens to those people out there somewhere? Those children who aren't us?

With the raw use of photography, Zhang O is forcing us to think about these questions. Zhang draws attention to the still-looming issue of abandoned young girls in the countryside, where parents cannot afford to have a girl as their only child. Zhang took individual shots of the girls, to represent their own single-ness, and then arranged all 21 photographs into a large montage creating an entirely new art piece.

Each girl interlocks her gaze with the viewer, almost challenging him or her to continue to stare. With each row, we see the horizon has changed. The changing horizon most likely represents the changing demography of China as the metropolis areas become more westernized and the changing fates of these girls as the single-policy law becomes more lenient. But their looks of bewilderment still give us an irked feeling. Is there a place in the world for these girls?

Perhaps a new day will arise.