Shuanglin Temple

There is a time-honored temple in Shanxi, China, with more than 2000 painted statuaries of the Ming Dynasty. Although the color on the statuaries has gradually peeled and some textures have become blurred after hundreds of years, these statuaries still exude a vivid atmosphere as it was hundreds of years ago thanks to the consummate skills and devoutness of ancient craftsmen. I shot these statuaries on black and white film, and later retouched them by dodge and burn, wishing to make them look lifelike again. Compared with what visitors have seen in previous years, the number of guardrails arbitrary built in the temple has increased year by year, hindering the overall outlook of the grand statue group. This is disappointing. However, by controlling the depth of field, I employed bokeh of those "obstacles" in the pictures to offset the incongruity caused by them. These obstacles have been transformed into pillars of light from the mysterious Buddhist world in my pictures. Through the retouch with my drawing pen, the audience can establish close eye contact with the statuaries across time and space and feel the subtle relationship I felt when I was among them. I would like to activate life through photography, religiously and humbly continuing the divine vitality of more than 600 years ago.