Last April, China exported 155.70 billion dollars of merchandise. This represents a 29.9% increase of “made in China” products over the past year. 
China has the world’s highest exportation level, but as President Mao once said, “The people, and only the people, are the creative force, the motor of History”. 
Showing the faces of the people making these “made in China” objects we buy is the grounds for the work of Lucas Schifres.

Like Jean-François Leroy, director of the Visa pour l’Image festival, I have no passion for this type of identity picture. Most of the time, the photographers who approach this type of work have no particular reason to choose this portrait style. This is not at all the case for Schifres, which is why I am presenting his work. 
“Visages du made in China” is a true photo story it provides a human image of Chinese industrial production, equally as troublesome for Europe as for the USA. These Asian faces are mirror images of those in the Fensch valley in Lorraine, in the potassium mines of Alsace… Workers that could have been seen in the factories of Detroit during that city’s golden years. These “blue collar workers” are so reminiscent of the faces of 20th century European factory workers whose products were exported to… China!

The full text written by Michel Puech is available at the French version of La Lettre.