Later, curiosity urged me to expand my plan. I was not satisfied anymore with observing only the city I lived in: I wanted to see the changing China. I went to big cities, villages, ethnic minority areas, and border towns, I would look for a place with crowds and a strong taste of life, and I would photograph people from dawn until sunset. I used a white background to drag the subjects out of their reality, for better "observation", while using the same measurement allowed for "comparison". Throughout the entire process, I didn’t let my subjectivity get involved - I just wanted to capture people from all walks of life and identities in their natural state in front of the camera against the same background. I don’t know what impression the subjects will make on the viewers, since different experiences will result in different interpretations; what matters to me most is the communication exchange with the people, which becomes part of my personal experience and enriches my life.
As I increased the number of shooting locations and people for this series, extending my trips all through China, from east to west and from city centers to the countryside, the whole project expanded and became more than just "one day". Therefore, I changed the name to "Image". In Chinese, the character 相, "image", has multiple layers of meaning: appearance and looks, face, manner, exterior of an object, observation, estimation, and interaction, which are all the elements and significations I want my photographs to convey to the viewers.
-Chen Chunlin
Chengdu, May 2008
世间万物皆因有相，而被我们认识感知。人有人相，物有物相，社会有社会相，要识得当前的社会相，必然离不开对作为人类社会本体的人的观看，在这一点上，摄影的优势得到呈现，自然地成为我的表达方式。
在2003年拍完成都宽巷子的一天之后，我给作品取名《一日之鉴》（Lessons Learned from One Day）。意为透过一天中拍摄的人与物来分析当代社会的状态。一天虽然短暂，但如禅语所言："一沙一世界. 一树一菩提"（ A Grain of Sand: To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower）。这一天的生成，有它偶然和必然的因果。
后来好奇心驱使我扩展了自己的计划，我不满足于只观看自己生活的城市，我想看看急剧变化中的中国。一些大城市，乡村，民族地区，边境小镇，只要时间允许，我都会到达那里，寻找人流丰富，生活气息浓郁的地段，采取同样的形式，从早上到傍晚拍上一天。运用白色背景把人物从现实中抽离出来，为的是"观看"，采用同样的形式，为的是"比较"。 在整个作品的拍摄过程中，我不想带有过多的自我判断，只想看到在相同的背景下，那些不同身份的各类人物，在镜头前的自然呈现。他们能给观者带来甚麽，我不用知道，不同的经历自然有不同的解读。与被拍摄者的沟通交流，却成了我的人生体验，他们带给我的触动已成为心中的财富。
随着拍摄地点的增多，拍摄人物的增多，整个系列已不仅仅是《一日之鉴》所能概括。于是我选择了《相》。在中国文字中："相"含有：容貌、样子；物体的外观；察看，判断；交互、互相这样的几层意义。而这些意义正是我想概括，想传达给观者的。
－陈春林
成都，2008年 5月
