Desultory Narrative, a photographic exhibition by Chinese-born Xiaojian (Jennifer) Zheng which explores her home city of Tai’an, will open in Galway City next Wednesday.

This show examines how place shapes our identity and how we perceive and interpret the world through the lens of our surroundings.

Like Galway, Tai’an is a hugely popular tourist destination and has long grappled with challenges to its identity, due to a continuous influx of visitors.

As Xiaojian wandered its streets, she sought to capture the distinctive atmosphere of this evolving city, while exploring how places retain their unique character in the face of globalisation.

She also wanted to focus on the diverse voices involved in placemaking. Her photographs, framed through a documentary lens, show the different social groups that make up the tapestry of a city; they are a metaphor for the differences between official and unofficial narratives. They also illustrate the ups and downs of life for ordinary people as they navigate their home city.

Xiaojian (Jennifer) Zheng is a PhD candidate at the University of Galway.  Her research and her art focuses on placemaking, place identity, sustainability and digitalisation.

She has a Bachelor’s degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Master’s from the University of Galway.

Desultory Narrative: The  Storytelling of Tai’an, A Small Chinese City, will open in The  PorterShed, Market Street, next Wednesday, April 2, at 6.30pm, and run until April 28, from 10am-5pm daily. Environmental Sociology Lecturer at the University of Galway, Dr Mike Hynes will open the show.

Pictured: Xiaojian Zheng’s work, at the city’s PorterShed, explores daily life in her home city of Tai’an.