Jonathan Browning

Portrait and storytelling Photographer
 
Migrant workers and Billboards
Public Project
Migrant workers and Billboards
Copyright Jonathan Browning 2024
Date of Work Jan 2016 - Jul 2017
Updated Jul 2018
Location shanghai
Topics Abstract, China, Fine Art, Photography, Photojournalism, Portraiture, Street

For me, Chinese migrant workers are the unsung heroes of Chinas rapid economic development and its rise on the world stage - they have been the builders behind China's massive urbanisation, high speed rail networks and are even are sent over to foreign lands to further China's influence on the world, such as Africa. However they are also the lowest paid labour force and the wealth gap between these workers and the rising professional middle class is widening to disproportionate levels.

Here this project juxtaposes the migrant worker with the advertising billboard display for the project they are helping to constuct, whether that may be state of the art office complexes or luxury apartment homes for the multimillionaires in Shanghai. 

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