Yihan Chen (Zara) is a documentary photographer based in Shanghai. Her work focuses on climate justice and the control of landscape.
Zara studied BSc (Hons) Architecture at University College London and completed her postgraduate studies in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography with distinction at the University of the Arts London. Her photographic practice maintains a calm and documentary style, underpinned by thorough research.
Her most recent project, New Land: Constructed Territory, focuses on land reclamation being undertaken by the Chinese government in nine major bays, examining how these areas have changed and the forces driving their transformation. Through aerial and documentary photography, comparisons of satellite imagery, analysis of government documents and testimonies from local residents, the project visualises the intervention into the control of landscape by humans, and represents the scale of the subject matter and of China’s economic and political ambition.