相/Phases
Linjie Li
Francescasullivan6@gmail.com
As a bilingual person, it is interesting to find correspondence in words of different languages. The title consists of one Chinese character, 相(Xiang), and its English equivalent. But one wouldn't fully understand if one only understands one of them, just like some people may see a banana as nothing more than a banana. It can be seen as one phase of the Moon, which holds a special place for many in Asian culture. It can be a slur, for someone who is 'yellow on the outside, white on the inside'.
A friend once told me that everyone is born with a shadow of the same height, but different people cannot see one another's shadow. Everyone has their lone battles with the fate of loneliness. The older I grow, the more I struggle with the feeling. It is not just about being alone in a foreign land, estranged from friends and family. It is more formidable and indescribable, even if it can be put into words, it couldn't be fully perceived and understood by others - thereby the unseen shadow. This project serves as my attempt to communicate with my shadow, my past, my being, and my cultural identity.
