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Shen Wei's best photograph: a naked self-portrait on a Chinese stage

‘Not knowing if anyone would walk in gave me energy and inspired my powerful stance’

On a trip through Jiangxi province in south-east China two years ago, my friend and I were wandering around one of the area’s many small villages. It was tiny and empty apart from a few old men and women sitting in front of their houses.

There was a single street which all the doors of the village opened on to. One had a normal black door with a sign above it that said something like “club” or “meeting hall”. It was the only indication of it being non-residential, so I pushed it open. We found an empty theatre with two raised stages. Chairs were stacked on one and on the other was this set: two chairs and a table, draped in red fabric. I instantly knew I had to take a photograph.

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from Culture | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2JMAcH7

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