to cut the feet, to fit the shoes

The name of this series is a Chinese idiom used to describe the fatality of the human condition. The photographer seeks to combat the anxiety of appearance conveyed by the mass media and what he calls the fetishism of merchandise “to let go of harsh self-recrimination and happily accept our own identity and uniqueness, fearlessly and delightfully.” This series takes the form of a handmade book, and introduces more profound ideas concerning self-image, spirituality and cultural theory through the creation of Chinese symbols or use of English words as section headings.

This project is based on the participation of people of different backgrounds who were invited to “beautify” the portraits of Ms Jiaoyan Yang and me, according to their preference. And then the project continues with the decontextualisation and recontextualisation of those beautification variations, as well as the unwanted part from the process.

Haohui Liu is part of »Guest Room: Simon Baker & Aden Vincendeau«.

Check out his Artist Feature Great Celebration.