Lot 291: SHI GUORUI

B. 1964
THE HIMALAYAS: EVEREST MOUNT 8844.43 (SLM), NOV 10, 2005

49 7/8 by 157 1/2 in. 126.5 by 400 cm.

signed in Chinese, titled in English and dated 2005 on the reverse

gelatin silver print, camera obscura

This work is number 2 of 6 unique (not indicated on print) but similar images of Himalaya produced using a camera obscura.

NOTE

In 2005 the Chinese government made a new measurement of the height of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. In the past, with the old instruments, the height of Mount Everest was fixed to 8848.13 slm. Last year a more precise measurement revealed it to be 8848.43 slm.

After three years of repeated attempts, trips to Tibet and many efforts, on last November-December 2005, Shi Guorui eventually succeeded with his project of taking pictures of the mountain through his pinhole camera and a huge temporary construction, which served as a dark room, built on the spot for the occasion. The photographs were shot from a mountain facing Everest and at an altitude of 5200 meters. Each photograph is a direct print on paper (no negative) and is a unique photograph.