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From Amsterdam to Dubrovnik: Photographer spends four years documenting Europe

In 2014, Chinese photographer Xu Xuehan flew to Holland to begin a four-year project that would take him around Europe, travelling on to Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy and Croatia.

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All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

His resulting series, Seize the Moment, refers to the Chinese idiom, "catch the wind and seize the shadow", where, similarly, he captures those fleeting, often enchanting moments in life.

On show at London's Menier Gallery from today, 24 July, Xu's images capture the beauty in the ordinary such as a busker playing the guitar, a couple kissing and an old car parking in a corner. Xu also explores the contrasts of old and new in the modern environment and takes inspiration from each city he visits.

"The typical ancient castle, landmark church, desolate border town, international modern city and the people who frequent there," explains Xu. "It's about making them feel that the distance between reality and history is only that door you need to open."

Born in Jiangsu province, China, in 1980, Xu Xuehan holds a Masters in Photographer and Bachelor's degree in Photography and Media Art from Nanjing Normal University. Today, he is a lecturer and Dean of the Photography department at Sanjiang University. Seize the Moment by Xu Xuehan launches today at the Menier Gallery, London.

Moody black and white landscape with a solitary boat on water, surrounded by tall reeds and a tree-lined shore under cloudy sky
A man in a checked shirt walks past a weathered building wall covered with posters and notices in a European street scene captured in black and white
A cyclist rides through a wet cobbled street lined with historic brick buildings in a European old town, captured in black and white
Black and white photograph of a European city square with brick buildings, a bare tree, metal seating in the foreground and a blurred figure running past
Overhead view of a narrow European street lined with parked cars, with a solitary figure walking on the cobbled pavement below modern apartment buildings
People walking on an elevated pedestrian bridge with city views in the background, captured in black and white by photographer Xu Xuehan
Circular road marking with directional arrow sign and street sign on a curved road through rural landscape in black and white
Burnt-out car abandoned in a desolate rural landscape under stormy skies, photographed in black and white
A gondolier poles a boat through a narrow Venetian canal lined with weathered historic buildings and crossed by an arched bridge in black and white
Black and white photograph of a Venetian canal-side building with a moored boat in the foreground and a man with a dog walking past the entrance
Two gondolas moored against a weathered brick building with barred windows on a Venetian canal in black and white
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