Tim Gao: Invisible Theatre | MONOVISIONS - Black & White Photography Magazine

MonoVisions Black & White Photo Contest 2025

Street photography is not just a sharp triggering of shutter to shape the outside world in the form of light and shadow. It is simultaneously a curious observation and emotional perception of what’s happening in the ordinary streets at any moment when unpredictable dramas and realities are actually taking place.

I have lived in Shanghai for over 9 years and I explore Shanghai, where urban city and residential lanes are hidden and unknown to me and impact my emotional attachment to the city. Street photography not only enables me to create a documentary view of the unique Shanghai street and the culture behind it, but also reveals the extraordinary and metaphorical aspect of Shanghai – an invisible theatre of mystery, drama, unease and nostalgia.

As a self-taught photographer, Shanghai-based Tim Gao learned to develop films in the darkroom. With a keen fascination for Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photographic style, Tim began his professional experience doing street photography in 2012, being influenced by photographers including Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama, Diane Arbus, Josef Koudelka, Mark Riboud, Takuma Nakahira and Issei Suda, among others. His work shows the exquisite craftsmanship needed to obtain street photography, specially with film cameras.

Website: www.timgao.com