Wang Qingsong (born 1966) is a Chinese photographer. Early life and education He was born in Daqing, China in 1966, and grew up in Hubei. He studied at the Sichuan Academy of Art. He moved to Beijing in 1993. On his background, he said, "I think there are many regional distinctions that I have incorporated into my art. For example, being born in Heilongjiang Province, I remember a lot of Soviet tanks going around when I was three. At that time, China had a confrontation with the Soviet Union. When we moved to Hubei Province, many people were assigned there to work on an oil field that used to be a swamp. In Sichuan, I was in one of the most populous cities in the world and the most important memories were of all the itinerant peasant workers from Chongqing. Then, in 1993, the huge urbanization strive in Beijing also impacted my art. All of these experiences have given me a lot of inspiration." Career He began his career as an oil painter, then moved on to photography. He considers himself both a journalist and an artist, saying, "I think it is very meaningless if an artist only creates art for art's sake. For me, the dramatic changes in China have transformed China into a huge playground or construction site. Whenever I go into the city I feel suffocated by the pollution, social contradictions, and so forth. All of these factors contribute to the fact that artists cannot just make art for art's sake. I think it would be absurd for an artist to ignore what's going on in society." Notable works Skyscraper In 2009, the Hammer Museum exhibited his piece Skyscraper:In Skyscraper, Qingsong employed 30 scaffolding workers from the countryside near Beijing during a month long production, to build a 35meter high ‘skyscraper’ out of gold-painted iron scaffolding. Using stop-action 35mm film he captures the entire process, but without showing the workers. China has been growing at breakneck speed but what is not always noticed, like Wang’s process behind his photos, is the immediate effect and sacrifices of millions of displaced and anonymous people. The end of the film shows fireworks exploding from the top of the skyscraper in a jubilant but dark celebration as we listen to three women sing a Chinese version of “Silent Night, Holy Night.” The Bloodstained Shirt He works mostly in China, but in