With the rapid development of science and technology, photography in our country is advancing by leaps and bounds. Photographers' pursuit of their art is also presenting a more diverse trend.

　　Some stick to the fundamental characteristics of photography by recording the times and chronicling history. Some search high and low to observe the nature and humanity their hearts yearn for. Some focus on certain subject matters and come up with aesthetic and serialized works. Others traverse the world and use photography to communicate to the world. People have different aspirations when they embark on their long journeys. Photographers seek their own ideals in different values and aesthetic pursuits.

　　Mr. Wan Yi, an old friend of mine who is by no means old in age, held solo shows as early as in the 1990s and has been exploring this path of dialogue with the world through photography.

　　PSA China introduced PSA-certified international photography events to China in 2009. Wan Yi joined PSA China in 2011 and began his long journey of collecting awards and distinctions. Over the years, he has won several times the Top 10 International Photographers and many other prizes. In 2019, he received the title of GMPSA/P, among the first few in mainland China.

　　I find in his more than 3,000 shortlisted works a wide range of subjects and a great variety of styles, including nearly 100 dazzling portraits, fascinating images of common people from all over the globe. Among them, one gets to see a bearded, cigarette-dangling tough rough man in a French street, a Spanish sailor looking distressed, frightened, depressed, and confused, an eagle-eyed and composed Greek security guard, a lovely little Amy in Ireland with her sweet expression and charming eyes, a worried and anxious-looking old man in Xinjiang driving a cart, an innocent and coquettish masked girl at an American carnival, a street tramp mockingly winking at the photographer, and a very kind and amiable old man in Argentina.

　　These candid photographs result from Wan Yi's eight-year campaign in winning international photographic competitions and represent some of his best artistic creations. They depict the living conditions of those surviving at the bottom of the human community, capturing the passions and moods of these common folks of the global village at the beginning of the 21st century.

　　Why is Wan Yi so taken up with portraits of common people? Back in his college days, his teachers often organized field trips to sketch and catch the expressions of characters. Wan Yi has brought this artistic accomplishment into photography and played it creatively. Therefore, his portrait photos are good at grasping the characters' instant expressions to mirror their inner world.

　　Wan Yi's Portraits of Common People select ordinary people at home and abroad as the subject matter. In form, they showcase the aesthetic creation and artistic expression of photographic art. Wan Yi pays attention to the choice of different characters' occupation, appearance, expression, temperament, demeanor, and spirit. In post-production, in order to highlight the subject, the background is purposely darkened to create a deep, heavy, solemn, and restrained atmosphere. In terms of light and shadow contrast, Wan Yi makes good use of backlight and sidelight to enhance the three-dimensional sense of the pictures. And in front light or scattered light, he uses the lens, the third eye, to bring out the subtlety in the subject's eyes that is elusive to the naked eye.

　　Wan Yi's Portraits of Common People not only bring into play the lifelike recording characteristic of photographic art, but also give full play to its special function in expressing the author's aesthetic pursuit and value orientation, forming his unique style in portrait photography and reflecting the aesthetic meaning of capturing the true spirit.

Hu Guoqin

May 8, 2020

作者：胡国钦