Photographic surrealism and the art of awakening1

In 2022, Shanghai-based photographer Zhang Qi, commonly known as Weiqi created several series of works related to Shanghai’s epidemic containment, such as Shanghai in Emptiness (2022), which were disseminated through WeChat video and other channels, which gained great social repercussions. This interview covers three aspects of the artist’s upbringing, creative process and religious beliefs. From his narration, we can not only understand his sincere feelings when he created his works, but also see the observation and thinking from an artist’s personal perspective about Shanghai’s urban history and the experience of closure and control. The transcendental reality brought to him by the epidemic is not the same as surrealism as a literary and artistic style, but there is some kind of essential connection between the two. This connection lies in the realization of social reality and truth that may be inspired by an individual’s genuine life experience at a specific historical moment. Especially as he is a devout Buddhist, his belief in ‘awakening art’ allows us to see the revelatory significance that art may have for individuals and society today.