In Traces: On the Road Again, anothermountainman (Stanley Wong) explores the persistence of the past in the face of tumultuous change. Images of the desert landscape around Dunhuang in Gansu Province, China, photographed in 2010, are juxtaposed with images of Chinese words taken around the world over a period of fifteen years. The exhibition suggests that history can never be erased, while attempts to impose an order on the present will always be disrupted by what has come before. Dunhuang was once a thriving commercial and spiritual centre on the ancient Silk Road leading from the north China plains to Mongolia, Southern Siberia, Tibet, India and further Westwards to Europe. Although it may feel remote today, these images remind us that the desert is alive with memory and meaning: tracks, roads, telegraph wires, satellite dishes and fading signage are the traces of an enduring human connectivity.

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