Wenpeng Lu

Chinese artist Lu Wenpeng travels around the entire world to capture its megalopolises with his camera. The impetus for his creative work came in 2008 as he strolled the streets of New York, fascinated by all the architectural masterpieces and people inside them. Since then, he has taken his Leica to Lisbon, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv, and more, transforming his impressions of these cities into unmistakable street photography.

In his Mirror City series, the city skylines form abstract patterns. Through reflections and rotations, the artist produces a striking kaleidoscopic effect. The repeated structures give the image a sense of perpetual motion, reflecting the pace of life in these bustling cities. Lu creates unique depth in the image that subverts the traditional rules of perspective – especially central perspective. The vanishing point is in the middle of the artwork, the buildings create imaginary diagonal lines that converge in the center, eternally drawing our gaze inwards. Looking over the pieces, however, our gaze gets caught up in the countless windows and valleys between the skyscrapers.

The longer you look into the symmetrical formations of high-rise buildings, the deeper you are pulled into them. Global cities like Hong Kong and Shanghai are revealed from a new perspective, the crystalline aesthetic of which is reminiscent of films such as Inception that draw an entire experience into question.

Lu Wenpeng was born in China. In 2004, he settled in Paris to work as a motion designer. In 2008, he switched focus to street and travel photography, and has since exhibited his work around the world. In 2017, he published the book, Street Colors and Shadows. Lu has received numerous awards for his work in Asia, Europe, and the USA. He lives and works in Paris.