Final Project - BinChao Yang

"Shadow friends"

Social phobia

                    My Final Project is a consecutive images. There is a group of people who are afraid of contact with others, but are eager to communicate in their hearts. They choose to isolate themselves because they are afraid of social interaction. For a long time, they were immersed in loneliness. They want to have friends but they can't. The idea for this project came from some of my own experiences. I am a socially awkward person, and others may see me as boring and taciturn. Most of the time, I am unable to express my thoughts clearly because of my communication disorder. In the past, I would get very nervous and fear when talking to people, resulting in me being unable to express my thoughts and thus becoming taciturn. After that, I mostly closed myself off and refused to communicate with others. I was alone most of the time, and then I got used to being alone, and felt that I was fine and comfortable alone. But whenever I saw others with many friends, I would be envious, but when I think about my problems, I would be afraid Change. But I was lucky, I have a loving family who helped me change and get me out of my room and try to connect with the outside world. Although my social phobia has improved, but I still have some communication disorder. But I believe I will overcome these difficulties.   

                    I was inspired by Carrie Mae Weems work "The Kitchen Table, 1990". Her works use a kitchen as the background to show the roles and life experiences of everyone in a family. You can see yourself reflected in her works. I wanted to transfer Carrie Mae Weems style to my photo. I using my room as background, and I play a depressed, sad character. In the first photo I'm depressed, because I can't communicate with others, so I close myself off. In the second photo, a shadow appeared and it touched me. In the third photo, I was frightened by this huge shadow, the shadow was also frightened by my reaction. In the fourth photo, I felt the shadow’s kindness and tried to touch it. I can feel the shadow trying to comfort me. Then the shadow imitated my movements, changing its shape. Just like when I play games with my friends.