This project was completed in a few hours, quite rapid and without much thought during the shoot, just like the hard rain, came with no signs. I define this program as automatist street photography. And the title of the project is a tribute to Bob Dylan. I chose to ditch colours because I think black and white photographs have the power to pierce the surface of things, and I must admit that to some extent it is influenced by contemporary Japanese street photography.
In the Summer of 1962, Bob Dylan wrote down ‘A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall’ which has become one of the most significant protest songs. He states that ‘the pellets of poison are flooding the waters’ refers to the lies that were told to people on the radio and in the newspapers. Indeed, lies are more powerful than radiation.
It was an era of ‘truth’ gone collapse. Comparison is the theme of this project. The gap between the rich and the poor in this world is getting worse and worse, and the sense of severe fragmentation is becoming increasingly evident This is a world that full of lies and corruption. I see this project as a silent resistance to this situation. There is no such thing as freedom if people cannot make choices without taking all the risks.
Mingxuan Hao
8.July.2022