Adnan Hasović
05 — A city photographed before it changed

Polaroids

Shanghai · 2008—2009 · Instant film

Shot on instant film in the two years before the World Expo, when whole districts were being taken down and rebuilt. The prints have faded the way the city has — washed out, slightly wrong in the colour — and are now the only record of several of these corners.

The Cathay Theatre on instant film, its art deco tower and red neon sign above a crossing.
Cathay Theatre, Huaihai Road
The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre, traffic crossing in front of it.
Urban Planning Centre
The Shanghai skyline seen over dense treetops, hazy and overexposed.
An elevated expressway photographed from directly underneath, columns receding into haze.
Four schoolgirls in white and pale blue uniforms with red neckerchiefs on a pavement.
Apartment towers under construction behind a blue hoarding, cranes above, a red transport-hub sign.
Before the Expo
Three schoolgirls in white uniforms beside a pillar, one making a peace sign.
Next project — 06

China 2010

2010 · Colour street photographs · Digital