Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Shanghai: Photo Essay on Mops

As I was out and about photographing the city several weeks ago, one of my Shanghai turnSTYLE interviewees challenged me to begin a photo essay on mops in China.

Mops? I thought. You've got to be kidding.

But as I looked more closely at the fabric-strung mops, I realized there really was something to her idea. Suddenly, I saw the grand ubiquity of mops everywhere in Shanghai: propped against windows, doors, trees. On sidewalks. Inside homes. Alongside shopfronts. And I noticed the grace of their bedraggled Medusan hair. And I saw a story unfold...

Wallflowers pretending to take a much-needed respite...


And looking pensively out the window for her prince to come...


And finally draped over her beloved in a passionate embrace!


Today I am thankful for people who ask me to look closer at the world.

3 comments:

Janet Wong said...

Fabulous!

I can almost hear the wizard's voice: "Only when your humanity has been revealed will the spell be broken." And so...a half-dozen mop-haired girls in ancient Chinese dress are roaming the streets of Shanghai today, searching for their old homes...

Anonymous said...

Love this. Funny how something so simple can ignite the imagination. Safe journey.

Lorie Ann Grover said...

So wonderful, Justina! Seriously. Wonderful!

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