Amiko Wenjia Li
Kate
Kate. "Saudade" is a autobiographical photographic exploration and collaboration with place I have been to and people I have encountered with. Saudade is a Portuguese word that has no direct translation in English. It describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic or deeply melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. Moreover, it often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing will never return. In this series of portraits, I use photography to collaborate with friends and strangers, investigating the sophisticate beauty in this society of cruel reality. I use the slowness of shooting with a large format camera as an advantage to convey their acceptance of the photographing process. The photographs are reflections of my tiredness and anxiety of growing up and constantly being alone, as well as troubles I am going through yet ready to deal with, therefore all of my photographs mirror my fragility and have a sense of vulnerability.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
