My ongoing photography project "Black Snow" is a series of self-portraits situated in surreal settings such as disproportioned room, empty city with eerily similar buildings, or isolated island that does not exist in real world, etc. Images are inspired from my past dreams that have frightened me, impressed me, or prompted self-reflection. Some dreams can recur over years, sometimes with subtle change of environment or colors.

What does it mean when a dream repeats itself? Or when it has a subsequent episode? Out of the random nature of dreams, is there any certain pattern or logic involved?

“Black Snow” — oddly off-translated once in Google Translation from Chinese to English, means the year of someone’s own zodiac of the twelve-year cycle according to lunar calendar. One would only have a “black snow” every twelve years. This year is the year of Rooster, which I was born in 24 years ago, and it is believed in Chinese culture that “black snow” would often be a tough but significant year for one. This was the first "black snow" since my adult life, and an impetus for self reflection and investigation of a dream state, which can often represent one’s subconsciousness.

Images that transport me to a surreal space are spiritual and inspiring. I record my personal journey using images of myself as the subject to raise more general questions in this universe— what does fear look like? Or desire? Or one's unresolved childhood wounds? Do we create our own dreams, our own reality, or does the dream state bring us to another world?