Synopsis:

18,000 kilometres across land and sea. 10 years of travel on boat and foot. Over 10,000 images captured.

In this third instalment of Knowledge Sans Frontières, renowned Chinese photographer, explorer and academic Er Dongqiang presents breath-taking vignettes of his expedition on one of the world's most historic trade routes – the Silk Road. Drawing inspiration from a novel by 20th century Swedish adventurer Sven Hedin titled Im Herzen von Asien (In the Heart of Asia), Er retraced the footsteps of Silk Road voyagers and photographed slices of life revolving around the major thoroughfares ranging from the material to the spiritual, cultural to environmental. What resulted from his decade-long journey were archival-quality images exploring dualities of the self and the social, both past and present. At once enigmatic and incisive, they weave a spellbinding tapestry of civilisation's evolution and what lies at the cradle of humanity.

The session will be conducted in Mandarin and moderated by Lee Chor Lin.

About Er Dongqiang (Deke Erh)
Er Dongqiang (b. 1959, Shanghai) wears many hats as a professional photographer, explorer and researcher of visual history. Formerly a reporter and editor of the Shanghai Pictorial monthly journal, Er was one of China's foremost proponents of the concept of visual documentation as a cultural discourse. The award-winning lensman has embarked on his Silk Road project since 2000, becoming the only photographer in China to have conducted visual studies of the historic trade route over land and sea. His publications include A last look: Western architecture in old Shanghai, Hallowed halls: Protestant colleges in old China and Shanghai Vertical, amongst others.

About Lee Chor Lin
A museum professional for 28 years, Lee Chor Lin was the former director of the National Museum of Singapore and the current CEO of Arts House Limited, as well as a regular contributing columnist for Lianhe Zaobao. She is a recipient of the French and Italian knight of the arts and letters medal.

About Knowledge Sans Frontières
Knowledge Sans Frontières is a lecture series by The Arts House that focuses on generating new perspectives and understanding of the world. Speakers include individuals at the forefront of their respective industries in bringing new enquiry and readings to their field of knowledge.

"太阳下山，紫色的暮光隐没在慕大塔格山峰的后面。一轮满月升至冰川以南，我走出帐篷，踏入浓浓夜色，欣赏着这片我在亚洲大地上所见过的最为壮观的景象。"斯文赫定在《亚洲腹地探险》这本书里关于月光下慕达塔格峰的描写第一次印在了尔冬强少年时代的脑海里，这也是尔冬强第一次遭遇丝绸之路的概念。

在随后的几十年里，尔冬强追寻丝路先行者的足迹，在历史的文本和荒漠绿洲间跋山涉水，走遍了中亚、西亚、南洋和欧洲的许多地区，在陆上丝绸之路和海上丝路上风餐露宿、饮咸食腥，驻扎超过150座城市，拍下了数十万张视觉文献资料，用他的镜头与历史对话，与现实对话，与未来对话。

个人简介：

尔冬强
职业摄影家、探险家、历史影像学家。曾任《上海画报》编辑和记者，以捕捉和记录文化变迁而见长，是中国最早提出视觉文献概念的人，为这个多变的时代拍摄了大量的视觉文献。独立拍摄出版大型画册《中国民间艺术系列》、《上海史系列》、《近代通商口岸系列》、《口述历史系列》等作品数十部。在专题摄影和建筑摄影的领域成就突出，曾获美国建筑师协会等专业机构颁发的奖项，被西方媒体称之为学者型的艺术家。

从2000年开始多次自驾越野车横穿欧亚，深入丝绸之路沿线国家采访，2013年开始用无动力帆船扬帆海上丝路，走遍第一岛链和南中国海的整个南洋地区，积累了大量一带一路的珍贵文献。是中国唯一完成陆地和海上丝绸之路田野考察的人。

李楚琳
新加坡资深文化工作者，从事博物馆管理及建设长达28年，前任新加坡国家博物馆馆长。现任新加坡艺苑公司执行总监，早报专栏写作者。曾荣获法国及意大利艺术与文化骑士勋章。