Secular Devotion (2025) examines the ritualized practices of 打卡 (“check-in”) photo culture across China, where people perform choreographed poses and gestures shaped by social media and algorithmic aesthetics. These rituals transform public spaces into stages, turning image-making and the human body into a collective, choreographed spectacle. The work explores how contemporary image culture produces both selfhood and collective fantasy, revealing the devotion inherent in performing for the camera in the digital age.

The first half of the project features images produced by the industry, with me performing the poses directed by hired photographers. The other half consists of my own images and video documentation, revealing the production process, repetition, and labor behind the spectacle. Together, these perspectives contrast two modes of seeing, one scripted and algorithmically optimized and the other observational and reflective, examining how contemporary image culture shapes collective imagination and aspirations in modern China.

在中國的旅遊景點，數百人排隊，重複同樣的姿勢，拍攝同樣的照片。腳本化的動作在景觀中不斷重現，由攝影師口頭指導，並受到演算法美學的塑造，每一張影像都在網路上重複千百次。攝影成為一種舞臺化的實踐，自我透過姿態、動作與重複被建構——由日益成長的影像產業指導和優化，面向無形的觀眾。

曾經指向神聖的虔誠，如今轉化為為鏡頭與演算法重複上演的表演,一種世俗的虔誠。

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《世俗虔誠》（2025）探討中國的打卡攝影文化，在這裡，精心設計的姿勢與演算法美學將公共空間轉化為集體表演的舞台。該作品考察當代影像文化如何映射現代中國人對逃逸與可見性的集體幻想，同時揭示在數位時代中，為鏡頭與演算法表演所蘊含的虔誠。