Voeed Chao Wang

Amidst the ever-shifting, ephemeral, and fluid landscape of the metropolis, I find inspiration in Charles Baudelaire's response to the dynamism of his 19th-century Paris, adopting a flâneur's mindset to accentuate contemplation and subjectivity within my urban existence. On August 10, 2023, I calculated the optimal exposure time surrounding my home for the film that I had. With a deliberate approach, I opened the camera's shutter for the duration of 9 minutes and 38 seconds while strolling around, and, at the same time, manually and constantly winding a roll of film until it was fully expended. The culmination was a singular image created from an entire roll of film, later transformed into a 9 minutes 38 seconds video, capturing my meandering journey—neither entirely contrived nor objectively precise.

This camera operation becomes, for me, an artful response, a counterpoint to the inherent logic of the camera itself and the established codes of the photography industry. Through this, I strive to uncover authenticity, channeling my discerning gaze in search of the ur-form of the city's image, one that resonates with the authenticity and subjectivity of my sweeping eyes.