Layers

As the photos burn, my body regains clarity, the return of my ‘layers’ completing the loop.

Three-screen video installation
6’48’’ (black and white, sound), looping 

In my hometown in Southern China, where Buddhism is widely practiced, photography is prohibited in many temples due to the belief that capturing images of deities absorbs their energy and power. This custom led me to contemplate the sense of insecurity and apprehension people had towards the camera when it was first invented, as if their lives were being taken away. I was further inspired by Honoré de Balzac’s notion that humans are made up of multiple spectral layers, and that every time they are photographed, one of those layers disappears. I attempt to question the boundary between mythos and reality, and how people’s misunderstanding of modern technology has evolved over time into theological legend. 

My three-screen video installation is an endless loop shot, inspired by Rodney Graham's Vexation Island and Elle Pau's Operation Theatre. It shows me reprinting my photos until they turn black, while my body fades away for each print, symbolizing the loss of ‘layers’. The photos were then burnt in a joss paper burner, a religious symbol bridging the spiritual and physical worlds in China. As the photos burn, my body regains clarity, the return of my ‘layers’ completing the loop. The video is supposed to loop infinitely, but can be stopped at any time as well, hinting at the uncertainty of death.