What do you think when you first see these photos?
Good and evil? Light and dark? Angle and demon?
Fair enough, that's what most of the people usually think when they first see photos with white and black contrast like these.
White represents holy and pure. Black stands for foul and gloomy.
Without letting us notice, these thoughts quietly sneaked into our minds and made conclusions for us without permission.
Everyone is blinded, no one realizes.
How terrifying.
In the endlessly flowing river of time, there were few who chanced to dimly see through the mists of concealment and started to seek for the true label of everything behind its cover.
Which is, there is never a label for anything.
Never.
Those who discovered the truth, with their awaken consciousness and courage, realized and made the change. They listened to their hearts and followed their dreams, trying to break every stereotypical thought and will never be stopped by these judgments.
However, there were too few of them.
Although there were many who said so, very few had the courage to act.
Fear of standing out, afraid of being isolated, and avoid to be pushed under the spotlight alone.
That is human nature.
People are made to be with others, to live in flocks and society. They are issued to us with our lungs and pancreas and every single part of our body.
That is an indisputable fact.
Therefore, those few who tried to break the stereotype and the so-called rules, either were defeated by loneliness, or knocked down by malicious phrases.
Fewer could insist to the end.
I, am one of them.
Having the courage to be me and chasing my dream, but meanwhile, frightened and lost.
I hear people who used to be my friends saying I am weird.
I see people who were close to me avoiding talking to me.
I begin to sensor the empty darkness and loneliness that surrounds me.
Simply because I do some art that they do not understand.
Simply because I like something that they do not agree.
Simply because, I am different.
And they, are always the main flow.
Now let's look back at the two photos.
The Whites with the expression of disgust, are avoiding to talk to the only black.
And the Black who is isolating from the majority, is cracked and broken. The only thing she can do, is to hug herself tightly and try to seek for a little warm from the surrounded darkness, weeping, and cannot hold on to this any longer.
In the second photo, the Blacks with curiousness on their faces, are peeping at the only white.
No Stereotype, no discrimination, no seclusion.
They are just simply wanting to get closer and trying to talk to her.
But the White throws her shadow to them before they even begin a word. Knowing herself as the White, who are always labeled as good and kind makes her arrogant.
She sits with her back to the Blacks and
disdainfully avoids to even look at them.
Every character in the scenes has my face, with the expression of different emotions and different characteristics, which represents me in front of the public and in my real life, always in the position of hesitating and waver around.
In the public, I am "the White". Trying to be tapped into the community and are so attuned to the threat of isolation and rejection. Too afraid, too weak, too timid to be my true self.
However behind the scene, I know that we should not be afraid of being oneself and I also cannot give up my dream just to fit in a so-called society.
I am conscious, but also lost and afraid.
But that is me.
They are all, me.
by Freya Lu
君
( After finishing writing the entire artistic statement, I just realized that naming the characters who are in white "the White", and the characters who are in black "the Black" might misleads people to relate to some racial issues. So if I accidentally made you think in that way or made you feel a little uncomfortable, I solemnly apologize and really sorry for the unclear phrases. I absolutely do not mean this way. It is just naming them "the White" and "the Black" make an obvious and clear contrast on their clothes and the content that I tried to explain. So thank you so much for the understanding! )
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