Sink into the Bottom Of the Ocean
坠海

“Sailor” is a three-volume photography book exploring contemporary Chinese queer culture, stemming from my migration experience as a queer individual from a conservative hometown to Shanghai. In this metropolis, I discovered a vibrant yet complex queer cultural landscape—both a utopia of desire and a battlefield of identity politics. This experience prompted me to collect and document: the queer cultural symbols circulating on the internet, along with my selfies, street photography, and intimate images from my phone albums.

The work comprises three volumes, each presenting urban queer culture through distinct visual languages: “Eden” depicts the allure of queer spaces through exotic landscapes and vibrant colors, revealing the utopian imagination of urban queer spaces; “The Orchid Man” juxtaposes queer cultural symbols from the internet with intimate images, examining the fluidity and contradictions of identity in urban spaces; “Wishlist” adopts the aesthetics of gay pornographic magazines, with lo-fi effects and reflective textures, exploring how desire is constructed and commodified in consumer culture.

By merging digital and intimate images, I attempt to reveal how Shanghai's queer culture is constructed within urban politics and globalization. The work examines both gender stereotypes and masculinity construction while documenting how ordinary people live and resist within mainstream narratives. More importantly, it reveals the hidden loneliness, desire, and sense of belonging beneath the city's glossy surface.

"船员"是本三卷摄影集，记录中国酷儿文化，源自我这个酷儿从死板老家飘去上海。在这座城，我撞进一片生猛又复杂的酷儿景观 - 既是欲望乐园，也是身份厮杀场。我开始疯狂收集：网上漂的酷儿符号，自拍，街拍，还有手机里的私密照。

三卷书用三种眼光切城市酷儿文化： "伊甸"用异域景观和刺眼色彩画酷儿空间的诱惑，剥开城市酷儿的乌托邦幻想； "兰人"把网络酷儿符号和私密照片撞在一起，看身份在城市里如何流窜与撕裂； "愿望单"偷男同色情杂志的美学，用劣质效果和反光肌理，挖欲望怎样被消费文化塑造和贩卖。

把数字和私密影像混血，我要露出上海酷儿文化在城市政治和全球化里的真相。既剖性别成见和男性气质包装，也拍普通人怎么在主流故事里活着反抗。更要剥开城市表皮下藏的孤独、欲望和归属渴求。

This video piece was born on an anxiety-filled night, exploring trauma and contradictions in intimate relationships like Gollum's inner struggle in The Lord of the Rings. In the maze of urban space, I weave various visual elements into a psychedelic landscape: sleepwalking-like sequences, daily random shots, internet image fragments, gay livestream footage, and advertising images.

The soundscape constructs a complex emotional map: urban night ambience, recordings of insomnia and depression, voices from gay livestreams, Cantopop/Hokkien nostalgic music from the 80s-90s, and songs related to long-distance relationships, forming a sound archive that transcends gender and age. These sounds document both personal trauma and collective memory.

Drawing on Preciado's concept of “orgasmic forces,” the work demonstrates how technologized bodies oscillate in the digital age. The daily narratives in gay livestreams suggest hidden sociality and utopian potential in queer relationships. In this era, images become flowing currency, mediating virtual interactions. Ultimately, this work serves as both a healing ritual for personal trauma and an exploration of new forms of intimacy in the digital age.

这段录像生在焦虑的深夜，像魔戒里咕噜的内撕，探索亲密里的伤口和矛盾。在城市迷宫里，我编织迷幻景：梦游般的片段、日常随手拍、网络碎片、男同直播cut和广告图。声音堆出情感地图：城市夜噪、失眠抑郁的自录、男同直播喊声、粤语闽南老歌，和异地恋情歌，揉成跨性别跨年龄的声音档。这些声音既是个人伤疤也是集体记忆。借普雷西亚多的"高潮力"，作品展示技术化身体在数字时代的震颤。男同直播里的日常碎语暗示酷儿关系里藏的社会性和乌托邦可能。这时代，影像成了流动货币，媒介虚拟触碰。这作品既是治愈仪式，也是探索数字时代新的亲密方式。

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