Vera Xia Jingyi 夏靖宜
Photography
La Petite Mort / 小小的死亡
Days of Judgement / 审判日
The Nocturnal / 夜行动物
Untitled Movies / 无题电影
In the Mood for Love / 花样年华
Untitled Movies
Untitled Movies 2019
4 by 5 film, Gelatin Silver Prints
"Untitled Movie Stills" is not only a tribute to Cindy Sherman's renowned "Untitled Film Stills," but also an exploration of the possibilities of time and space in large-format film photography, posing, and still images. This collection of photographs was taken in the first half of 2019 using a 4x5 large-format film camera in Annandale, New York, and San Francisco. During this period, the author was influenced by the long shots found in art films and developed the concept of capturing images with a "cinematic temperament." The author vaguely conceived a story centered around themes of tracking and searching, likely inspired by David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive."
However, the author believes that the narrative potential of photographs pales in comparison to that of movies. Even though the final images are visually connected, they do not form a linear narrative. In nighttime scenes, the exposure time often ranges from 2 to 5 minutes, requiring the model to maintain a still posture throughout the long exposure. Meanwhile, the photographer must simultaneously hold a timer in one hand to count down and manually operate the shutter with the other hand. When the photographer calls out, "3, 2, 1, Action!" time and space become flattened into these negatives, resulting in static images.
The characters in the photographs are positioned within the scenery, either gazing into the distance or looking around, leaving the stories that precede and follow these images completely to the audience's imagination.