Something Vibrant

The genesis of rivers was mythologized, while odd rocks with transformed into forgotten memorials. The towns and mountains, permeating with some wildness and lost memories have become the captivating sceneries that have compelled me to be wandering along.

I am always amazed by everything burgeoning along the rivers – from the smallest thing like dust, the thriving and withering of vegetation, the hovering flies in golden blue, to those gargantuan rocks, the thick and damp forests, and the capricious weather. The winding roads lead people to join in on this natural mystique. Subtle details and activities are hidden behind the ever-changing rivers, and become the fleeting moments of difference in the repeating, quotidian everydayness that embody the root of my quest for the rivers.

This photo series was undertaken between 2014 to 2023. Spanning close to a decade, the project aims to not only document the rivers, but also create for the rivers. The inception of this series had first begun to emerge since my relocation to Ankeng, Xindian. It was also the moment when I started to realize that as someone new to the area, how close I could be to water. The small towns and mountains upstream, permeating with a touch of wildness and some lost memories, have since become the captivating and inclusive sceneries and episodes that have compelled me to continue my wandering along the rivers.

The development of human beings has been intertwined with rivers since time in memorial. Rivers nowadays have, however, become a mere resource for tourism and recreation to many an urbanite. The genesis of rivers was mythologized, while rocks with odd shapes transformed into memorials that have long been forgotten. Driven by my cravings for a unique paradise, I was eager to be a part of the river. I had little clues about whether these being documented are people who have long lived here with legacy passing down generations, or perhaps just those that arrive to escape from city life. I wandered through it all. All these people, activities, things, and sceneries that confused or intrigued me were documented and became my metaphors to demarcate a heterogeneity of life. These life stories developed along the rivers gradually evolved into distinctive narratives, which turned into a thick web of storytelling over time, to eventually fixate me within its fluid boundaries.