Summoning
The Chinese context of god is an extension of daily life, rather than a separation from it. How the god supports and reconstructs contemporary life? How does it subtly affect people’s mentality and state of mind? How do people of different races and cultures share their beliefs and spiritual pursuits? Based on my curiosity about the spiritual world and future uncertainties in mortal life, I explored folk beliefs to elucidate life's problems and symbolic culture.
“Summoning” combined the oral history of folklore in my hometown Guangdong, China and my experiences of living in London. In a metaphorical way, it discusses the spiritual connection of Western and Eastern cultures via different symbols. These symbols and underlying stories come from folklores, novels, and fairy tales. In my visual choice, I created fictional reality with my camera, concealed scenes with regional features; and integrated daily life items, such as: garlic, wardrobe, candles, etc. to make them look universal. In some of the images, I injected my personal abstract comprehension of faith. Photography is a bridge of my imagination and reality, I hope to know stories of different cultures through it, excavate the shared beliefs that seem to exist across them.
中国的神灵观是日常生活的延伸，并非脱离。那它是如何影响我们当代生活的？是如何潜移默化地影响人们的心理和精神状态的？不同种族，文化背景的人是如何分享着他们的信仰与精神追求？基于对精神世界和不确定性的好奇，我开始探索一些民间信仰来阐明生活中的谜题和象征性文化。
这个项目结合了广东的家乡民间口头传说和在伦敦生活的经验。用隐喻的方式，借助一个个象征性符号，探讨东西方文化背景之间的精神联系。这些符号和背后的故事来自民间传说、小说、神话。在画面的选择中，我有意通过镜头来虚构现实，隐藏了具有地域特征的场景。并融入了很多日常生活化特征，例如：蒜，衣柜，蜡烛等，试图让其变得有普适性。在一些照片中，我将自己对信仰抽象的理解加入到其中。我希望通过摄影去了解不同文化背后的故事，从生活中挖掘那些似乎彼此拥有的共同信仰。
