Rescued Chinese negatives - in pictures

'This time is from 1985, when everyday Chinese accessed film photography, to 2005-6, when digital started taking over. It’s really the birth of post-socialist China,' says Thomas Sauvin. The artist was buying prints by contemporary Chinese photographers for London collection the Archive of Modern Conflict when he decided he needed a change from the expense and ego of professional work and started seeking amateur images Photograph: Thomas Sauvin

The rapid spread of cheap automatics allowed ordinary people to capture the country’s changing face. But while the collection spans hundreds of thousands of lives, the same themes appear again and again Photograph: Thomas Sauvin

The portraits of women posing with their fridges emerged in the late Eighties, as people acquired more household goods Photograph: Thomas Sauvin

Later came shots with Ronald McDonald, as the Chinese discovered fast food Photograph: Thomas Sauvin

Photos of the tourist sites followed as wealthier families began travelling Photograph: Thomas Sauvin

It is hard not to wonder what became of smiling couples … Photograph: Thomas Sauvin

… and perturbed looking infants Photograph: Thomas Sauvin

'I’m creating a historical archive. The worst thing that could happen is for it to be digested by me and me alone,' said Sauvin Photograph: Thomas Sauvin