experimental work
VHS
Does individual expression against the mainstream merely become another form of homogenization?
01
Catalyst
I often ponder why young folks in China are so into retro vibes, like the film-style filters all over social media and the 1980s Japanese city pop craze. It wasn’t until the “meme” culture blew up online that I realized retro is also a gentle pushback against societal norms.
02
Nonlinear Choices
Back in 2019, I made a vaporwave music video for Lu, and later painted a set of album covers for it. Lu’s a pretty funny guy; he learned Japanese but quit because he found the pronunciation too rigid. He also passed on a guaranteed spot at our university for postgrad studies, only to end up back at the same school after taking the exam. Some might say he’s been going in circles, but I totally dig his nonlinear choices.