The Wall

EDITION

2023, Shortlisted

school

Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, China

My works were rooted in photography as a documentary medium, in which I discuss the topic of aging and loneliness through photography. From 2020, I began to make portraits of the elderly in the nursing home through photography. Gradually, I found that the aging of ordinary individuals is denied and hidden by the society. Leaving their families of origin, they lived alone behind high walls, and eventually could no longer experience the "normal" connections with people and with the society. Also, I have transformed some items from the old people. These cheap items are very different from the modern objects of today, and I have shown these items like monuments. The interesting thing is that this allows the weird part, the living situation of old people, to be pushed from behind to the public. The present society is obsessed with economic growth, expansion, productivity, acceleration of a state of love. A futuristic attitude and the praise of youth pervades. However, the aging society is an indisputable fact. Decadence, ugliness and cheapness are muted and eliminated in the public realm. Through image making, I aim to bring the identity crises and the perceived loneliness of the elderly into public sight and possibly promote the discussion about the issue.