In China, everyone calls Roland Fisher “Big Dragon,” a very Chinese name which means a large dragon, that while very strong, is very amiable and loyal to friends. I have known “Big Dragon” for three years. When I first met him in an artistʼs studio, he was introduced as a famous German photographer. Later, I engaged with him more, got to see his work, and went to his home to see his new work. Then, I better understood Roland Fisherʼs art.
 
What is most important about Roland is that he is cosmopolitan, and he especially excels at assimilating different cultures. When he creates work in China, he always brings an exploratory curiosity to it. Not only is he curious about China, but he uses photography to capture the sense of wonder in China. As an artist, in observing his subject, he always uses an intuitive perception to catch a moment that moves him. He sees China as filled with clues to exploring historical transformation. His vision is not just about the pursuit of novelty, but focuses on the search itself. He is like Chinese artists, hoping to find a pictorial relationship with contemporary Chinese society. This point illustrates that the vision with which artists view reality is increasingly communal. What he strives to achieve is the continuity of his artistic system. In the mirror image of the worldʼs pictures he finds the worldʼs secrets and stories. They are stories of the worldʼs development, spirit, and consciousness. The series of images he took of Chinese people could very well become the pictorial legacy of Chinese society. Through this artistic realistic description, comes the creation of the world.  

Clearly, Fisher has communicated much to us, because for a long time, when we talked about Chinese art, the discussion was limited to Chinese territory. In fact, this situation is changing, because Chinese art has entered the global context and system, and because many foreign artists are coming to China to create. Thus, there are multiple sources of interaction, and so, talking about todayʼs art cannot be limited to Chinese territory, as this exchange and integration is continually occurring and emerging, and because of them a new cultural horizon unfolds before our eyes.    
 
-Wang Chunchen
Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing