Amstel Gallery | Michelle Aimée

Yangzhou Yangzhou was a small Chinese village, until the mayors decided they wanted to transform this small village into a metropolis. Therefore they invested billions to build new districts around this village. These new neighborhoods were modeled after a Western example to make it look modern and attractive. But the houses in these new districts were very expensive and most Chinese people couldn´t afford them. A bizarre city emerged: all citizens lived in the centre (previously the village) and surrounding this centre there were numerous suburbs…empty. Recently the mayor gave order to rebuild the centre. The citizens were kicked out of their homes, but couldn´t afford a new place. In Yangzhou I met a girl, Wu Yazhi, who belonged to the happy few who’s parents could buy an apartment in the suburbs. But she wasn´t happy living there: she lived there by their selves, all her friends lived in the centre. And as their housed would be demolished it wasn´t clear where her friends will go. In this series you´ll see several kind of images in Yangzhou. Images of the centre in demolishment and images of the suburbs: some districts under construction, some districts completed. And I portrayed Wu Yazhi. Put together the images give a reflection of a metropolis under construction. The shell stands, but the soul misses. It is a bright and shiny product in the shop window of the Chinese government: everybody can look at it, but nobody can buy it. more info and details: www.michelleaimee.com

New apartments in a new, empty city	New apartments in a new, empty city	Amusement park in the suburbs. Most of the time the park was empty	A demolished area in the centre around a square where the weekly market took place

Cartoon figures in an empty amusement park in the suburbs.	New apartments in a new, empty city	Flats in the centre that will be demolished

Wu Yazhi in her parents’ bedroom	Wu Yazhi in her bedroom, before her	A model in an estate agency with in the reflection of the window laborers at work

Gradually, then suddenly Hemingway wrote a classical paragraph in 'the sun also rises'. Someone asks Mike Campbell how he got bankrupt. The only thing he responds is: 'Gradually, then suddenly'. That is the nature of a depression; suddenly you wake up, afraid to live. For this series I personated a girl with a depression. She is beautiful and talented, but she doesn´t know that. She is locked inside her head. view the complete works on: www.michelleaimee.com



Still #1	Still #2	Still #3

Still #4	Still #5	Still #6

Blessings Inspired by mythological stories I portrayed the pain we find in love by making the wrong decisions over and over again. Eva took the fruit and started the Fall: we are destined to choose that what breaks us down. In the short film Blessings you see five women as tragic goddesses. They found love. And lost it. They are tortured. They hurt from love. The film The Marriage shows us the beginning of this pain, when a little innocent boy chooses wrong over right form an early age. He stands on a car in the middle of a forest. The car is our source of light, a gate of heaven. Beautiful women, angels, as bridesmaids walk out of the light: they give a little boy away to his dark lover. view the complete works on: www.michelleaimee.com

design and realisation: lln tekst+vorm, www.lln-go.nl