Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Artistic
Locus Community Y

The inspiration for this series comes from my confusion and exploration of a sense of belonging in the city. In the fast-paced urban life, the city’s lights have become a unique mark of my identity and sense of belonging. Using the city as a backdrop, I use light as a “brush” to depict those hidden and intense emotions: from unfamiliarity to familiarity, from feeling lost to finding a faint sense of comfort. These works are not only a representation of my memories of the city but also an interpretation of every soul that drifts through the urban landscape. In this series, light symbolizes the pulse of the city, both a symbol of the busy life and a reflection of my inner, complex emotions. Through layering and collage of images, I try to present the tangled emotions that cannot be easily put into words, capturing moments of blur and clarity in different cities. Each piece attempts to find that long-lost sense of belonging through the dialogue between light and image, speaking of the warmth and recognition that I have longed for. This is the city of my dreams, a place that can never be fully grasped, where belonging and distance intersect, as I search for that unique space to call my own.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 03.2021
Date Uploaded: 12.2024
Photo Location: Los Angeles, California, United States of America
Camera: LEICA M10
Copyright: © Zheng Ye