Imitation of Life
Analog photography
Canton, China
This project lasted three years during COVID-19 and was shot in Guangzhou, China, with a medium-format analog camera. With a Sociology background, I have a long-term interest in how my friends are shaped by their family relationships and the social environment.
As my parent’s generation encountered the reform process of China and the opening-up policy in the ’80s – ’90s, they had more well-off lives than their previous generations in general, and they could give our generation a wealthier life. Artificial wood veneer furniture, plastic toys, and religious statues were manufactured goods that were popular businesses in China back then. Therefore, we often live in an environment with excessive goods, and at the same time, their surplus seems to rip off the sense of reality. These objects are parodies of dream life for the rich, yet the ephemeral feeling of these artificial materialities brings a surreal quality to real life.
We live in a façade of wealth, and the façade is our living environment. Almost nihilistic.
Special thanks to: Andy Yip, Hong Xuan, mafmadmaf, Meng Hongyu, Jin Qiaoer, zhangzin