I created a new artwork under the theme of Solitude – Solo Exercise. This was a unique and unforgettable experience that I earned in my life.
I had never thought about staying on an isolated island for 24 hours alone, with no watch, no mobile, no radio, etc. There was nothing I could use to keep connecting with my “world”.
Though I was fearful during the solo hours but eventually I built my self-confidence through this exercise for the rest of my life.
In reality, I thought that somehow it is really lonely and scary for a man who works and fights hard for survival in the business world/society surrounded by people, including friends, foes and strangers, to be alone, losing contact with everyone else.
In creating this project of Solitude/Solo, inspired by photographer Gregory Crewdson [1] [2], Matt Mahurin and Cindy Sherman, I tried to create a sense of intense loneliness which can be depicted as most of the photos are monochrome and the mood is gloomy. I tried to express the solitude of a person, which is personal and at the same time can be anyone’s “personal experience”. I wanted to use these photos to tell a story, to take an everyday situation and transform it into something cinematic and universal.
Point of view
Although I set the theme as a city fighter surviving in a routine business world, I hope I can express something more impersonal by playing the role of an actor, who observes myself, as one of the many city-goers, from a detached point of view. Like a tiny drop of water in a sea of people, I am both myself and not myself, and anyone who has had the same urban experience can identify with me.
Expect the Unexpected
What I enjoy the most in making art is the spontaneity and the almost providential nature of the creation process. There are always unexpected outcomes which can be anticipated delightfully. For example, while I was being the subject of the many shots in Central, I was not aware of which one was arty and which was not. I just played my role faithfully, and let art come out naturally. Although almost of the shoots were not being used, the selected 2 x “artwork” is the result of much effort and work, just like doing one shot in a movie, I have gone through many takes to capture the best shot, and usually it is completely different from my initial expectation! The making of this cinematic series of photographs provides me with the ultimate experience of making art.