Willem Wernsen: Behind the Great Wall

‘My interest in China started at a young age. The first acquaintance was in a dark movie theatre through the big screen. The mystery of this enormous country grabbed hold of me as a thirteen year old boy. After seeing the movie ”The Inn of the Sixth Happiness” (1958) with Ingrid Bergman as leading lady, I went looking for books and documentaries, since I wanted to know more about the overwhelming China.

Thirty-two years later, in 1999, my now deceased wife Margareth stimulated me to make a trip to China. Her sister went there regularly for work and she spoke the language. I was forty-five and was seriously occupied with analogue black & white photography for over twenty years. When this opportunity knocked, I grabbed it with both hands.

My work has a strong social-documentary character, in which love and interest for people is central. I want to make the essence and the story behind the people palpable for the viewer. This interest for capturing people and the simple things in life, in which the little events of life mainly interest me, also became my drive in China.’ Willem Wernsen

Including signed print.