Zhaotong Du

A series of staged photographs that recall the current living state of couple of Chinese international students from the past decade.

The project aims to deliver the shifting mind set between students who went abroad in 2010s and 2020s. As the tension grows between China and the western world, attitudes toward studying abroad has been changed over the decade with the rising nationalism and patriotism.

The ongoing narratives of identity dilemmas from students living between cultures and ideologies, futile actions of a reappearing figure, and the faltering construction of the photographic stage con- verge in describing the desire and absurdity in the search for a sense of belonging in a time of dislocation.