Weekend Portfolio: Sophie Tianxin Chen
I, etcetera
Søren Kierkegaard stated that “It is only through opposition that the object of desire is possessed.” I have internalized this sentiment, and deliberately obscured my identity and objectified my body as ways to refuse the role of the classic protagonist. In I, etcetera, these positions evoke the feelings of disarray and shame I experienced when, after 10 years, I finalized trading my Chinese nationality for American citizenship. This narrative is indirectly suggested through an allegorical method of revealing. By blurring the distinctions between the literal and metaphorical, I can delight in the absurdity of disorientation and estrangement that has compelled me to make photographs.
About Sophie Tianxin Chen
Sophie Tianxin Chen studied Film, Video and New Media at School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Photography at University of California, Los Angeles. She has shown internationally at institutions including Royal Ontario Museum, Canada; Three Shadows Photography Art Center, China; Hexiangning Museum, China; SF Camerawork, US; Matéria, Italy; and has been featured in publications such as Aperture Magazine; Genda Magazine; Same Paper, VICE, among many others. She was nominated for FOAM Foundation’s Paul Huf Award in 2020. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
To see more of Chen’s work please visit her website.
