Olivier Robert: Huang Shan | MONOVISIONS - Black & White Photography Magazine

MonoVisions Black & White Photo Contest 2025

This series of photographs is part of a long-lasting project dedicated to the Yellow Mountain in China. The classical Chinese landscape painting has been an important source of inspiration in my photography for more than 20 years and has drastically affected the way I consider a landscape as a subject.

My work consist in pushing the boundaries of photography to get as close as possible to the expression of simplicity using emptiness as a support to emphasize the subjects.

Many days a year, the Yellow Mountain is shrouded by a thick fog and clouds and provides a mysterious atmosphere that has been depicted in the classical Chinese painting by generations of artists. These conditions offer me a perfect way to blur the distinction between photography and painting.

‘Huang Shan’ was the Black & White Series of the Year Honourable Mention Winner in the MonoVisions Photography Awards 2018.