China 2019
Duration: 00:56
Directed by: Hong Ning
Production/School: Hong Ning
Dialogue language: No Dialogue

Hong Ning collects photos from different periods and takes selfies with them, creating a contrast between styles in diverse times within the same image. The preservation of daily photos has transformed from traditional films and photo stickers to saving photos on mobile devices in the contemporary era. Aesthetically, the ways to take casual photographs are varied with changes of the methods photos are kept. In the past, we relied on photos to record the actual attributes of things, and during the rise of photo stickers, the collocations of two-dimensional decorative patterns in single-frame images were stressed. Nowadays, using apps like Snapchat and Tiktok to change the image of the person being photographed in the lens has become extremely popular. Taking pictures are not only for recording, but also has undergone greater changes aesthetically with the alteration in photo-retention methods. Through this work, Hong Ning attempts to explore the expressions of the same self at different time stages on personal and trendy aesthetic tastes, and further questions about the development of self-image in future casual photographs.

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