Photographer misses his home – especially when he’s there
Shi Yangkun uses his camera to capture a feeling known as solastalgia: the longing for a place that no longer exists
Over the years, SHI YANGKUN has left his home farther and farther behind. From Shangshui, a small county seat in central China, he went first to a neighbouring province for university, and then to Beijing and Guangzhou for summer internships. He eventually ended up in London for a master’s degree.
Every time he returns home, Shi is gripped by a sense of loss that can quickly turn to depression. The feeling stems from seeing a town that has changed beyond recognition and no longer evokes the fond memories or warm familiarity of childhood. As if standing in the eye of a storm, Shi sees everything swirling around him.
Propelled by the gap between his anticipation of his homecoming and the reality of his estrangement from the place, Shi turned to his camera to express his feelings. The 24-year-old roamed his hometown and the surrounding counties for two summer months, snapping pictures of children, livestock, abandoned objects and empty landscapes, his photos emotive with a quiet melancholy.
He named this project Solastalgia, after a term coined by Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht to describe the distress produced by environmental change.
SHI talks to NECTAR GAN about confronting the present by chasing the past.