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The Chinese-born, but later British-based artist, Li Yuan-Chia (1929-1994) is now regarded as China’s first Conceptual artist. He produced a series of lyrical photographs in the last years of his life – many were still life compositions with his sculptures, flowers and stones, and others were images of himself performing shaman-like for his own camera in his garden in Cumbria, with his face obscured or facing away from the viewer. After working for decades in painting, sculpture and installation, Yuan-Chia evolved this late immersion in photography in a highly personal, spiritual way. He hand-coloured and tinted many of his photographs, giving them an otherworldly, strangely timeless quality.

England & Co is presenting a selection of Li Yuan-Chia's unique hand-coloured photographs at Paris Photo 2024, 7-10 November.

Untitled (Performance with chair) 1993
24 x 19.2 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled (Still life with chair) c 1993
39.2 x 30 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled (Five bricks with flowers) c 1993
25 x 36.8 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled (Four bricks with flowers) 1993
25 x 36.5 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled 1993
19.5 x 23.8 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled 1993
24 x 19.8 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled (Landscape with poppies) late 1980s
21.5 x 19.8 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled (Brick and flower in landscape) late 1980s
24.5 x 19.8 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled (Blue cloth with sculptures) late 1980s
19.8 x 22.2 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled (Banana skin in scarf) late 1980s
20 x 23.8 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled (Flower in landscape) late 1980s
19.8 x 24.5 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled c 1994
24.5 x 20 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print

Untitled (Self-portrait holding glass in the artist's garden) c 1993
40.8 x 40.5 cm
Unique hand-coloured black and white print