run

A bittersweet ode to freedom; for the yearning to be as carefree and unbound as a child.

I hadn't realized it then, but leaving home at the tender age of 16 also meant leaving behind my freedom. Suddenly thrust full-throttle into adulting, the irony of my departure would not be fully contemplated until decades later. The years in between were spent surviving rather than thriving. The series RUN is not only a dreamlike remembrance of the simplicities of childhood but, moreover, a surreal visual narrative exploring the existential constructs of identity and meaning crisis.

This short series was created using a Holga, the medium-format toy film camera manufactured in Hong Kong and known for its low-fidelity aesthetic. The Holga's low-cost construction and simple meniscus lens often yield photographic anomalies such as vignettes, blur, light leaks, and other distortions, creating a surrealistic representation of reality.