What Remains
P H O T O G R A P H Y
Life is a one-way street. Time never stops, and death is destined for all life on earth. I spent more than six months collecting wilted plants, which did sprout in anticipation, blossom like fireworks and age with grace. They were not dried flowers preserved at the peak of their beauty, but withered twigs with flowers fallen off. Rather than their most magnificent moment, what I truly wanted to capture was their final stance at the time of departure.
There is nothing fancy in this series. I lined up all the wilted plants on a table and took their portraits one by one with a camera and a single light. Curiously, they carry an air of desiccated serenity, which seems more open to imagination.
The peace lily looks more indulged and the white ghost cactus seems more supple. Death is a taboo, but it is also an inevitable stage of life. When a life is gone, the remains will nourish what comes next. What blooms must wither, so that life can rise again in another incarnation. Death is not to be feared. Not living to the fullest is.
Exhibition View
Year
2023
Publication
Where The Firework Dies 煙花之地, 2023, HK
[ISBN:978-988-76921-0-2]
Position
Photographer