A FOREIGNER HAS ARRIVED, A FOREIGNER HAS LEFT

Inspired by a viral T-shirt, this series contrasts the loud public messaging of propaganda red banners with the quiet melancholy, conformism, and nostalgia for home while stranded in a country far away.

The title A foreigner has arrived, a foreigner has left takes its name from a viral T-shirt I wore while living in China—a phrase printed on the front and back that constantly amused the locals. In a society where the boundary between insider and outsider is absolute, and where the casual refrain of "laowai" (foreigner) follows you down every street, a prolonged, unexpected stay forced me to look at my new home from a different perspective. Stranded by the sudden onset of COVID-19 and the country's strict border closures, a planned brief stay turned into a four-year residency.

This visual diary archives a temporary existence within a highly regulated "conformist heaven"—a bubble of stability and calm carved out of strict local rules and isolation. Alongside the photographs, the project features long fabric banners rendered in the everpresent, striking style of Chinese street propaganda. By pairing the iconic "propaganda red" aesthetic with typical civic and political slogans found throughout Chinese cities—as well as the project's titular phrase—these banners reflect the constant background noise of public messaging that frames daily life.

Yet, instead of documenting political friction, the series captures quiet moments full of geometrical harmony, melancholy, and nostalgia for home. From isolated figures on distant rooftops to abandoned objects left in the wake of transition, these images create a substitute home that was never meant to last.

a photography series, diary
shot between 2020-2021
19 images, 16x9/9x16