Book Review: Campaign Child
©Xiaopeng Yuan
Writer: Olivia Young
Copy Editor: Janeen Mathisen
Photo Editor: Julia Borges
Xiaopeng Yuan’s Campaign Child consists of behind-the-scenes shots of children’s commercial brands – and although the photographs primarily feature children, there is a coldness and eeriness opposing to youthful glee. Yuan’s inspiration arose from being consistently employed on commercial sets during his early career. He photographed white, Western children, despite being commissioned by Chinese kidswear brands. Within this environment, Yuan became interested in altering the perception of these conditions. He contrasts the children and their innocence with the looming presence of advertising.
©Xiaopeng Yuan
Through Campaign Child, Xiaopeng Yuan creates a new narrative in which discomfort is a prominent theme: viewers may easily comprehend a photograph and yet feel uneasy, even disturbed, the more they look.
©Xiaopeng Yuan
The cover image of Campaign Child represents this contrast and also introduces what readers can expect throughout the series. Two children in navy overalls face towards each other holding glass cups, most of their bodies as well as their faces excluded from the frame. Their facelessness evokes a feeling of mystery. They both hold glass cups half-filled with water; their arms crisscross as the right child’s hand reaches into the glass on the left, and the child on the left reaches their hand into the glass on the right. Though the context of childhood might be assumed, the dread of the unknown transpires. New meaning is given to the photograph due to its abnormal focus and eerie feeling – new meaning that is removed from a commercial context and altered for Yuan to convey his intended message.
©Xiaopeng Yuan
As another example, one photograph features a yellow canary underneath a stretch of plastic-wrap, which is being held down by the hands of an unknown figure. A dog peeks at the scene from the corner of the frame, giving off an air of puzzlement and curiosity. The image appears absurd, provides little to no context and the audience is left uncomfortable and questioning its brutality.
A similar feeling is evoked in the photograph of a collection of seemingly unrelated objects atop a glass table. A child gazes up at the familiar items: a basketball, a set of weights, a roll of tape, and a plethora of fruits and vegetables. Yuan’s constant thematic discomfort leaves the viewer with a lingering sense of wonder, begging them to ponder what exists within and without the frame, and to use their own imagination to extend his narrative.
©Xiaopeng Yuan
While the sets of Yuan’s photographs are often minimalistic and the colors neutral, discomfort is evident in every single one. Viewers feel disturbed and empty. Yuan takes the set of commercial children’s shoots – which normally go disregarded within the photographic space and are unconsidered by the wider public – and reconstructs them.
