World of One

World of One is about the grey areas of life, and draws much of its inspiration from the kinds of conversations we have with ourselves. By positioning opposing actions or emotions together in the same frame, these images seek to illuminate that although the elements seem to contradict one another, they are simply different expressions of the same personality. All the images here are shot on 35mm film with the aid of an assistant. I prepare all the shots on a tripod, and instruct someone when to push the button. I choose to shoot these images on film, because the colors present in film (and absent in digital photography) remind me of pictures from my childhood. The color of the film is also nostalgic for an aesthetic of a different time, which is crucial to making the dreamlike world I’m presenting seem all the more familiar. While much of the ideas presented in these images are drawn from western philosophy, particularly postmodernism, my inspiration behind the visual composition of the elements is often drawn from Asian traditions, particularly those of Chinese scroll paintings and Japanese manga. I find that working in this way, I am able to pay homage to both my cultural backgrounds — Asian and American; this is another multi-faceted and dynamic fusion that my photos work to express. The two different cultural backgrounds that I inhabit come together (in the same way the opposing forces in my photos come together) to create something new, and something uniquely Asian American.