Hui Lin

Hui Lin was born in Fuding, Fujian, China, and currently lives and works in London. She graduated from Xiamen University with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Communication and held a Master's degree awarded by the Institute of European Culture, UCL. After graduation, she worked as a freelance photographer and a columnist who embraces life experiences in various countries.

Inspired by the ever-changing socio-cultural environment of today's world, her artistic sensibility and creative focus enable her to discover the dynamic correlation between habitable spaces and humanity. In addition, her works often concern unfolding the poetic and nostalgic nature of the psychological attachment to the home.

My photographic practice emphasizes liquid modernity and self-identity. In many of my works, I attempt to apply the art of photography to questions usually raised by philosophical thinking, such as how people can enjoy their life journey poetically and how people can find peace for their souls when facing a constantly shifting reality.

Motivated by psycho-geography, I see myself as a nomad drifting in an unstable floating space. Instead of plan-before-action, I often capture tiny details and mundane scenarios. I work as a ghost or a poet during the entire process, lingering among pictures, seeking the true bond between now and then, the real connection between here and there.

The 6x6 format and the soft transition of the negative colour provided a neutral perspective for observation. In addition, it incorporates nostalgic memories, emotions, and imaginings, creating a poetic photographic language that allows me to carry out my works with a distinctive narrative voice.

The Way Out I, 2018

The Way Out II, 2021

Grandma, 2018

the Voyage, 2019

Red Glims, 2020

Window Atlas, 2020

By the end of the day, all solid matters fell into pieces, melted, and ultimately disappeared. In a city where its vibe and view are constantly changing as if a moving river, people are flowing around, carrying dreams either day or night and questioning where to go.

This project reflects my personal experience in constantly moving among cities, even countries, since childhood. Memories about the changing of perspective and expectation for life play a vital part in the normality of my existence. Moreover, dwelling in different spaces brings me the spiritual sustenance that holds my endeavour to bond with the environment surrounding me.

Through doors, I feel people. Through windows, I see the moon and sun. Through mirrors, I witness the reflections of souls. And through mottled walls, I read the chronicle of life and death. They hold the essential imagery of my works, metaphorically murmuring the passing of time and the flow of reality.

A placeless and timeless hyperspace is constructed through the form of double exposure and multilayer. The poetic dwelling might be a fitting metaphor for the rover's journey, which likewise merges, recreates, and inhabits new minds and landscapes.

Medium:

C-type Prints

Size:

100cm * 100cm * 6

selfie, 2018 — c-type print, 50cm*50cm

fish, 2018 — c-type print, 50cm*50cm

diving, 2020 — c-type print, 60cm*60cm

under the sea, 2020 — c-type print, 30cm*30cm

Hanging, 2020 — c-type print, 30cm*30cm

untitle, 2018 — c-type print, 40cm*40cm

window, 2020 — c-type print, 20cm*20cm

the bay, 2018 — c-type print, 20cm*20cm

wreck, 2018 — c-type print, 25cm*25cm

wreck II, 2018 — c-type print, 25cm*25cm

I launched the Offshore Project around 2018. Back then, my father was seriously ill. He was dragged back and forth between life and death while I was flying back and forth between London and Fuding to take good care of him, again and again.

Ranging from the hardship of a long flight to Fuding's magic-alike economic development, all those moments highlight the very sense of alienation. I reconstructed my hometown memory a hundred times with documentary photography, while my identity was also reconfirmed and consolidated.

This collection of photos purposefully visualizes the fish and the sea. It is also a metaphor for migration. To some, they can never go back to their homeland, as if a stranded fish, a stranger in a strange land. Yet, my memory of the sea, that very kind carved into my brain in my childhood, is the backbone of my entire creative career. Life tells me to find myself offshore, while a homecoming often grants true recognition by the end of the day.

Medium:

C-type Print

Size:

Varies

Talk

Indrani Lukomski, Dreaming of Atlantis, 2019

After the High Tide Thursday 1 July 16:00 (GMT +0)

Terra IncognitoContemporary art

Hui Lin

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Royal College of Art