Left, Right

Hardcover
2024
Self-published
English / Chinese
17.5 × 13.5 × 3 cm

This work consists of two interrelated books. One, marked by an arrow pointing to the right on the cover, presents portraits of women and men from the period of the Republic of China (1912–1949). The other, marked by an arrow pointing to the left, contains portraits from 1949 to 1978, spanning the early decades of the People’s Republic of China up to the beginning of the reform and opening-up era.

The images were selected from an archive of nearly 600,000 photographs and organized chronologically, based on visual cues such as clothing, hairstyles, makeup, and inscriptions found on the backs of the prints. Each photograph is paired across the two volumes: images sharing the same page number form a deliberate juxtaposition.

Through this mirrored structure, the work invites comparison between the two periods, revealing how political systems and shifting ideologies shaped the appearance, identity, and representation of women and men. The result is a quiet yet incisive visual study of historical transformation, where subtle differences in posture, fashion, and expression reflect broader social change.