"...On that day, I will awake underwater."

One morning, I don’t remember when, I woke up in a sweat, my heart pounding in alarm. I was left only with a vague memory.

In my dream, I appear, clothed; I come and go along these familiar alleys. I revisit my old school, the dazzle of lights emanating from the cinema, the riverside where I used to swim, the rooftops where I once went to get a breath of fresh air, the winding pathways… all is in darkness, unattended, there are no friends or relatives to be found anywhere. Where do all of these bubbles and floating objects come from? It becomes difficult to breathe, I fail to grasp anything, I scream but no sound can be heard…

Near the end of 2005, camera in tow, I endeavored to return to my hometown in order to photograph it. For better or for worse, my town had not yet been completely leveled and the people had not yet been entirely relocated. Despite the many ruins, the city’s activity could still be discerned. As for construction on the new town, that had long since been completed. Everything was so enthralling! I was far too busy looking up old friends and acquaintances to take any pictures. In the summer of 2006, I traveled by boat to the Three Gorges Dam. All along the route, in Zigui, Wushan, Yunyang, Fengjie and Wanxian, I photographed fragments of these riverside places.

This year I have returned several times. Each time, I felt it was a race against time. Thrilling slogans could be read everywhere, painted on the walls: “Let us tear down half a city in one hundred days”. They were destroying the old town so fast, leaving an atmosphere of death and decomposition everywhere. In taking these photographs, I had to hold my breath and, once taken, would make my escape.

I don’t intend to dwell on the meaning to be found in my photography. What is important for me is that I came from that town. It is about all that we have in common there: our accent, our spicy coriander, the nod we give each other, a friendly signal to say hello when we pass one another on the street, these streets that we have traveled alongside our ancestors, that have herded us along together… this series was created for all of that. It will be my personal memoir!

In 2009, it will be among the last settlements to be evacuated of people and submerged under the waters of the Three Gorges Dam, uprooting its inhabitants forever. Kaixian, the 1800 years of my childhood home’s history, expunged.

On that day, I will awake underwater.

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Yang Yi