Us and Them #

2023, Self-Published Poster, edition of 150, Riso print, 59.4 x 42 cm.

In The Image World, American writer Susan Sontag differentiates Chinese and Western photography under a rather aleatory range of nuances. When discussing Western photography in her essay, she employs the pronouns we, us, and our, suggesting she is part of the “in-group.” Subsequently, when referring to Chinese photography, she separates herself from the subjects, utilizing they, them, and their.

When Zhou read Sontag’s written voice, they were repeatedly sentenced to not belong, continuously being othered.

In On Photography, the artist rewrites the pronouns of Sontag’s critique of Chinese photography. This piece questions and investigates “us” and “othering.” Who belongs? How does one earn belonging? Whose voice deserves space in the dominant discourse?

Us and Them, 2023

Us and Them, Installation View at MoA 23, Finnish Museum of Photography, Finland, 2023