Artist Statement

When I first arrived in the Hong Kong megalopolis, it felt as if I had been dropped into a vibrant, real-world video game. Amidst the dizzying excitement, a profound loneliness took hold, and I began to question my own identity. It was then that I stumbled upon a community of artists and outcasts who called themselves Voidpunk—a radical movement where individuals reclaim their dehumanization by forging new identities as unhuman avatars. Their act of creative rebellion became my guiding light.

My photography project, "Love Like a Monster," is a body of work that documents and celebrates this powerful ethos. In a true collaboration, I merge documentary realism with speculative fiction to create cinematic portraits. My approach is informed by the intimate portraiture of Marie Cosindas, the rich color palette of Christopher Anderson, and, most importantly, the themes of loneliness and alienation in the films of Wong Kar Wai. This creative lineage allows me to bridge the psychological landscapes of my collaborators with the physical world of Hong Kong.

Using a medium format camera with analog film, my process deliberately contrasts with digital creation, mirroring how Voidpunks draw inspiration from ancient Chinese deities while embodying futuristic personas. The work delves into the invisible, employing a thermal camera to reveal the body heat that manifests as my collaborators transmute sacred energies, and experimenting with inverted film negatives to capture the raw essence of Hong Kong itself.

As I immersed myself in this world, I experienced a profound personal transformation. Inspired by the very community I was documenting, I turned the lens inward and collaborated with Voidpunks to create my own voidsona. These self-portraits became a testament to my newfound self-love, a visual manifestation of the journey from observer to participant—a final, collaborative act of becoming.