Wuhan through Matt Neale’s Lens

By Huang Lu, Zhang Yawei & Li Ning

A photographer on a rooftop on Wuluo Road, Wuhan (Photo by Matt Neale)武珞路上的高空摄影师（马特 摄）

Matt Neale, a young British man now living in Wuhan, said that Wuhan is a vast metropolitan city.

The vastness of this city provided Matt a gigantic canvas on which he composed a kaleidoscopic Wuhan with his small camera.

For the last three years, he has used his camera to capture the tall buildings and skyscrapers of the city, moments of life on the clean streets and quiet lanes, the daily life of dwellers day and night, and the tradition and modernity of Wuhan, a river city.

A Futuristic City

Like many westerners, Matt’s initial interest in China came from the mysterious Chinese kung fu and Jackie Chan’s movies. After that, he decided to discover this ancient and dynamic country when he graduated from university.

Matt wished to find a “mysterious” place to settle down. He said, “I’ve seen Beijing and Shanghai a lot on TV and in movies, but I knew very little about Wuhan before coming here.” He believed that he would discover real China by living in Wuhan. So he found a job as an English teacher in Wuhan No. 45 Middle School in 2016.

Matt Neale, a British teacher and photographer in Wuhan 英国摄影师马特目前在武汉任教

Matt was impressed by the beauty of the city at night when the lights on the skyscrapers were on. He then captured the beautiful views with his camera and shared them on WeiBo. Unexpectedly his works on WeiBo received tons of thumbs-up and comments, which boosted his confidence in taking photographs on a daily basis. Then, he shuttled through the streets and lanes every day and recorded a different Wuhan through his lens. Up to now, he has shot more than 5000 high quality pictures.

马特镜头下的武汉

文/黄璐 张雅薇 李宁

Traffic flow on Bayi Road (Photo by Matt Neale)八一路上车水马龙（马特 摄）

现居武汉的英国青年马特说武汉是广大的（vast）。

武汉的大，给了马特一块足够大的画布，这个英国小伙拿起相机，开始一项描摹武汉肖像的大工程。

3年间，他用相机拍下了武汉的城市风貌、市井热闹，拍下了这座江城的白天和夜晚、传统和现实。

武汉是一个极具未来感的城市

和很多西方人一样，马特对中国的向往，源于神秘的中国功夫和成龙的电影。

大学毕业，他下定决心，来这个古老而强大的国度探秘。

马特需要选择一个足够“神秘”的落脚点。“我在电视电影里看过太多的北京、上海了。但在我决定来武汉之前，我对它知之甚少。”

马特觉得，在武汉，他可以感知真正的中国。2016年，他来到武汉四十五中学做英语老师。

初到武汉的马特，发现晚上高楼大厦亮灯后非常漂亮，不自觉拿起了相机。当年5月，他在微博上发表摄影作品，很多人留言点赞，给了他创作信心。

此后，每天拿着相机，走街串巷，用镜头探索不一样的武汉，成为他每日的必修课，目前已拍了5000多张高质量图片。

爬上高层建筑俯瞰城市，是马特很喜欢的一种拍摄方式。“这种时候，才切身体会到这座城市到底有多大。”按马特的描述，那是一种非常纯粹的震撼。

Skyscrapers on Yanjiang Avenue (Photo by Matt Neale) 沿江大道高楼林立（马特 摄）

Matt is fond of capturing the city by standing on the tops of skyscrapers. Matt said, “When I stand there, I could strongly feel how boundless the city is.”

One of Matt’s impressive series is a set of photos of the Yellow Crane Tower. Matt was fascinated by the unique tower, which seems to be able to bring him back to the ancient times.

The bridges across the Yangtze River, street overpasses, and skyscrapers in Wuhan shot by Matt all seem like the hitech products and creations in the future. With a background of colorful lights, the streets suddenly become scenes out of a sci-fi film.

Last April, Matt held his first photo exhibition Standing on the Edge of Time in Wuhan. All 29 photos exhibit this sci-fi style.

In Matt’s eyes, Wuhan is a futuristic city.

A Journey through Wonderland

Matt’s works on the streets and lanes showcase the diversity of Wuhan.

He majored in documentary filming at South Wales University, and he excels at capturing the moments of daily life.

In his latest exhibition named Amid the Stories of a City, Matt’s works are full of narrative elements. Most of the photos were shot randomly on the street, and the protagonists were ordinary guys living in Wuhan. “Wuhan is a city which combines traditional culture and modern facilities. For me, living here is a journey through wonderland,” Matt said.

Although after living for three years in Wuhan, Matt still couldn’t speak Chinese, his love and appreciation of this city are both daily on the increase.

The dancing elders, the middleaged vendors, the young man squatting on a corner of the street, the sanitation worker at rest... all these people constitute a bustling picture of Wuhan. “I like the old buildings, old streets, traditional culture and all sorts of local snacks. I also like the majestic beauty of the Yangtze River.”

Matt said that Wuhan is a city full of inspirations and vigor. What he had done was just to capture these wonderful moments and expose them to those who want to be acquainted with Wuhan.

He also said that many of his friends learned about the dynamic Wuhan through his photos and came here to sightsee the wonderful city. “I will stay in Wuhan for several years, because I really enjoy the life here.”

(Translation: Li Li. Photos provided by Matt Neale)

A nightstand nearby the Zhongnan Road metro station (Photo by Matt Neale) 中南路地铁站附近的小摊点（马特 摄）

马特拍摄的一组黄鹤楼系列作品，让人印象深刻。在他眼中，黄鹤楼是很棒的建筑，非常独特，就像穿越到古老时代一样令人惊讶。

他照片中的武汉跨江大桥、立交桥、高楼大厦，仿佛来自科技高度发达的未来。本来熟悉的街头巷尾，打上斑斓的灯光，充满了科幻大片感。

去年4月，马特在武汉的第一次摄影展《站在时间的边缘》，展出的29张照片大多是这种风格。

在马特眼中，武汉是一个极具未来感的城市。

生活在武汉就像一次奇妙旅行

离开高楼，穿梭于街巷中的马特又拍出武汉的另一种感觉。

对曾在南威尔士大学攻读纪录片专业的马特来说，捕捉寻常生活中的故事是他的爱好，也是他最擅长的。

在最近的一次摄影展《城事之间》中，马特的照片融入了更多叙事元素。大多数照片拍摄于武汉街头，主角就是生活在武汉的平常人。“武汉融合了传统文化和现代文明，对我来说，生活在武汉就像一次奇妙旅行。”马特说。

在武汉生活3年，马特至今不会说中文，但这不妨碍他旁观这座城市。

跳交谊舞的老人、摆摊的中年人、蹲在街头的年轻人、休息中的环卫工……他眼中的武汉，变得市井热闹起来。“我喜欢武汉的老建筑、老街道、传统文化、各种小吃，也喜欢长江的壮美。”

马特说，武汉是一座充满灵感的城市。他所做的，就是抓住无数个奇妙的瞬间，展示给所有想了解武汉的人看。

马特透露，他的很多外国朋友，正是通过他拍的照片感受到武汉这座城市新旧并陈的戏剧张力。他们“慕照”来武汉旅行，和他一样爱上了像电影场景一样奇妙的大武汉。“我还会在武汉多待几年，在这里的生活真的很开心。”

（图片由受访者提供）