Wenyan
He

Graduate
London College of Communication
MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography

镜子像面纱一样

This work presents my experience as a woman raised in the city, grappling with biases and a sense of distance toward rural women of the older generation due to differences in both age and living environments. Approaching their lives with a city-centric perspective, I found myself unable to fully grasp their true circumstances and mindsets, which inadvertently widened the gap between us. In this project, I positioned myself as an audience, capturing random moments from the everyday lives of rural women. Through a darker, more somber tone, I aimed to convey the emotions I perceived, guiding the audience toward a narrative I initially envisioned—a story of hardship and oppression. This stylistic choice was driven by my own intention, hoping to reveal what I interpreted as a sense of "struggle." But you can find the truth in the description. The work ultimately became a profound reflection on my own biases, prompting me to question whether my perspective influenced how the audience would objectively understand these women. Had my storytelling inadvertently led the genuine experiences of my subjects in a different direction? Had I, in framing their lives, unconsciously diluted their voices, reshaping their stories through my own lens? This self-reflection gradually surfaced within the work, becoming a mirror to reexamine my role as an “observer” and inviting the audience to contemplate their own position as “witnesses.”