Invisible (2017)

In July 2017 I spent 8 days in Beijing. I had never been anywhere that simultaneously felt so welcoming yet made me feel completely invisible.

I could walk the streets for hours, peer into any building, point my camera at any passer by, and nobody would even acknowledge I existed. This led to an overflowing sense of calm amongst the chaos, as if life’s great performance was playing out at half speed and I happened to be the front row seat.

As with any trip to a foreign land our senses are heightened, leading us to notice tiny details that spark ideas and pique interest, yet my usual erratic impulses to try and soak up every second and leave no stone unturned were unusually subdued. For once, I felt happy to have questions that may not be answered.

One evening I went for a walk in the rain, capturing several frames shortly before an incredible thunderstorm broke out. The crowds had thinned and most people were making their way home from long hours at work. As a photographer I often find myself trying to capture images that feel as if the camera was never present in the scene. With these, I feel I succeeded.

I selected these images to represent my experience of Beijing, showing mostly unidentifiable people on the move and deep in thought, as I imagine they saw me.