Greg Girard: Phantom Shanghai

“Phantom Shanghai” is a photobook published in 2007 by Canadian photographer Greg Girard, documenting the "vanishing urban landscapes" of Shanghai as it rapidly modernized. The photographs, taken over more than 20 years, depict the streets of the former concessions awaiting demolition, houses just before being torn down, and old living spaces left behind, surrounded by skyscrapers. The contrast between the glittering skyscrapers and the old alleys being demolished symbolically represents the collision of urban memory and modernization. More than just a documentary, it is a book that has received high international acclaim for its phantasmagorical portrayal of fragments of history and disappearing culture.