"You must have lived abroad for many years?"

When He Zhaoya was questioned in this way, she couldn't help smiling: "You are not the first one to ask, but the fact is I've never been to any foreign countries, not even to neighboring Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand for sight-seeing."

Yet there is something elusive which makes her look different from other locally born and raised women.

Maybe it is her artistic lifestyle, her fashionable dresses, her straightforward character and her success in the photographic field that jointly give people this feeling that her experience couldn't have been as simple as she herself has claimed - an ordinary staff member of the Changning District Workers' Club, a place which in many others' eyes is too boring to stimulate the inspiration shown in her work.

"A large working unit can still be too small to hold a dream, and the free gallop of the heart can't be restricted anywhere," He said, explaining why she remained in the club doing work totally irrelevant to photography for so many years.

Critical benefit

In contrast to the situation 20 years ago when she was still a nobody in the photographic field, innumerable people have come to know this amateur woman photographer today. Yet interestingly, part of her fame, according to herself, is actually owed to criticism directed at her unique style.

He likes to use black and white films, which she believes sieve away colors she doesn't like, giving her pictures a special touch to elegance. Yet the special touch, in some other's eyes, amounts to a drawback, restricting her creativity, as well as demonstrating her failure to adapt to the modern world.

Despite all the criticism, He has no plan to change her style.

"I have never dreamed that many people would identify with me. If just one in 100 could understand my work, I would be very satisfied," she said.

Her first exhibition was held in 1987, scenic pieces accompanied with poems composed by herself.

The exhibition was held at a bar on Huaihai Zhonglu, a really avant-garde place at that time. In contrast to most other photographers, who spend large sums inviting the media to help promote their exhibitions, He spent all her money buying snacks and drinks for the audience.

"I wanted to build up a good environment for those who had come all the way to see my photos," He said. That the exhibition would turn out to be such a great success was something she had not expected.

"The three mail boxes set up at the bar were all filled with letters from the audience. Even the boss of the bar was surprised by such warmth of response, which was unprecedented in this bar, even though many exhibitions had been held there before," He recalled.

Afterwards, He was invited to hold a photographic exhibition at Fudan University, the Shanghai Industrial University, and the Australian Consulate General. In the same year, she was recruited as a member of the Shanghai Photographic Association.

But what made her really famous was her later work on Shanghai woman.

Thematic inspiration

The idea came to He in 1995. She wanted to step out of her landscape photography, which she thought was no longer fit for her age - she was then in her 40s.

The theme of capturing pictures of Shanghai women jumped into her mind.

Every city has its own language. Being an international city, Shanghai has both the romantic atmosphere of the 1930s and the bustling life of the modern world, resulting in a variety of Shanghai women.

"The Shanghai woman has unique characteristics," she said.

"Her life style meshes with this city, which is totally different from any other city in China, and even in the world."

He then began using her camera to work on her concept of Shanghai Woman, to find both the generality among them and the differences between each individual Shanghai woman.

He has intentionally avoided taking those famous women as her models, even though their fame might help to promote her work. Instead she used her special understanding of the city to find those who she believed were most fitting in relation to the traditional idea of local woman.

When looking back upon the difficulty she has gone through all these years while capturing the Shanghai Woman series, He was not sure she would have the same confidence if she had to do it all again.

He remembered her first model was a kindergarten teacher.

"My poor economic condition determined that I couldn't give them any money for being my models," He said. "Fortunately most of them were very co-operative."

For six years, He spent all her spare time on photography. Women photographed by her vary from businesswomen to housewives and from young girls to old ladies.

"They are not necessarily beautiful, but from their manners and expressions, you can see their elegance, intelligence and mystery," He said.

The most difficult thing was not catching their best poses or expressions, but ensuring that when the viewer looks at the pictures, it would be like sensing the subtle perfume and soft skin of these proud and exquisite women. That requires a lot from her.

"I have never thought that my work would bring me much money, and it hasn't till now," He said, smiling.

"It was not for the money that I started out in photography. It was to prove myself. For a middle-aged woman like me, when beauty is no longer there, the way I chose to fight against time was not to use cosmetics or put on nice dresses but to demonstrate capabilities which only belong to mature women of my age."

(Shanghai Star October 24, 2003)