I was born in the late 1980s, in a small mining town in inland China. It was a time when entertainment was scarce. One of my favorite childhood pastimes was going through our family albums. I could stare at the photos for a long time, as if I had become that person and lived that life.
I also loved taking photos. The day we went to take a photo, we would put on our best clothes, set out together for the photo studio. It felt almost like a little outing.
When the flash popped, time seemed to be caught, and archived into the piece of paper, waiting for you to open it years later and meet yourself again. Between those moments lies more than time itself, but the life you have walked through and the many versions of yourself you have become.
Magic.
I never imagined I would one day be the one behind the camera, taking pictures of others. I did not even have a camera of my own until I was already studying the craft. Just collected countless images I loved, cut out from any magazine I could find.
Perhaps it was this simple love that eventually took me to Beijing. I found myself at the Communication University of China, studying cinema.
Still images began to move.
From my town to Beijing, and later to Thailand, images first shaped how I saw the world, then became how the world saw me. With them, my path kept unfolding, carrying me to where I am now.
What about you? Where do you come from, and where are you heading?
I’m glad our paths meet here, and I look forward to what unfolds next.