Once in a while I see a photograph that is truly revelatory. The one I found yesterday is by Stephen Wilkes and is part of an exhibit of his recent work from China, on view through September 13th at ClampArt Gallery.

This is a panoramic view of the backside of the Three Gorges Dam at a tiny village in Hubei province. On the left is a massive spillway whose concrete embankment dwarfs some old farm buildings in the foreground. They would surely be inundated if the authorities decide to lower the water level in the reservoir, which isn't seen in this view.

Three Gorges Dam, Yangtze River, China by Stephen Wilkes, courtesy of ClampArt Gallery.

On the right, a village composed of four-storey concrete block multifamily dwellings climbs along the hillside. The foreground is filled with a ramshackle courtyard structure that appears to be a building supply depot. The most surprising element in the picture, at first, is a wall in the middle that separates the village from the spillway. Presumable it would keep residents safe when water is dumped from the reservoir.

After a while, this complex photograph reveals that it contains an entire photo essay that could be cropped image by image out of the overall scene. A peasant carrying goods in a basket on his back bustles into view along the dirt road. A man pushes a heavily loaded two-wheeled cart. The colorless gray structures offer pictures of everyday life, with laundry hanging from a balcony and motorcycles parked near a doorway

Details from Three Gorges Dam, Yangtze River, China by Stephen Wilkes.

I asked Stephen how he came to get this picture, whose high perspective is identical to the angle of view found in Chinese scroll paintings. "The average tourist," he said, "would never observe this scene. The authorities control exactly where the dam can be viewed and this is not one of those places." He went on to say that he caught fragments of the lush green patches through spaces between the gray buildings while driving through the area. He stopped at a rundown auto body shop where the owner agreed to let him go up onto the roof

"My translator and I climbed up this open stairway -- the place was full of junk and covered with grease - and when we got to the roof I was completely blown away. You're always hearing stories about how people have been separated from their lives by this dam, and here you see the last bits of evidence of what had been a rural, agricultural lifestyle.

"On my way back to the hotel I heard an announcement by the government that because of potential catastrophic environmental problems related to the Three Gorges Dam, such as mudslides and unstable land masses, 4.5 million more people might have to be relocated. That's in addition to the million who have already had their lives officially restructured by the government. But that's modern China, on a massive scale, from the people that gave you the Great Wall."

Stephen Wilkes: The Construction of the Olympic Stadium and other Chinese Public Works is on view at ClampArt Gallery, 521-531 West 25^th Street, NY through September 13. 2008. Please check the website for summer hours, or 646-230-0200.

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