2023
It’s difficult to describe how special Art Farm is. The land is filled with trees planted by Ed, the founder, over several decades. The buildings on the property are a mix of relocated farmhouses and handmade structures, built or altered by past residents and by Ed himself. Artists of all disciplines come and go, inhabiting these spaces briefly. They create using what they bring with them and a generous mix of on-site materials — wood, metal, clay, ink, fabric, and remnants of past projects waiting to be transformed.
In return for housing and resources, all residents contribute to daily maintenance and collective building. From Monday to Thursday, we worked together in the mornings. The main task during my stay was constructing the Wonder Shed — a structure made from steel, tin, and wood, designed to address practical needs across the property. Life at Art Farm moved at a different pace. My internal clock reset. Each morning, I woke naturally with the light, harvested vegetables from the garden, and watched the sun slowly creep across the treetops.
This portrait series began after a few quiet days of observation. I was curious how each person made space for themselves. Some of the studios were reused across time, and it was compelling to see how the same room could be transformed to meet different disciplines and temperaments. The camera gave me a way in — to witness how people worked, who they were, and how they made even the same walls and tables entirely their own.
Art Farm 是一个很难被简单定义的地方。它坐落于玉米和大豆田之间，四周环绕着创办人 Ed 几十年来亲手栽种的树木。园区里的建筑，有的是从附近农舍搬迁而来，在 Ed 的指导下，由他与驻地艺术家共同改造完成；也有一些是由驻地艺术家亲手从零搭建的。来自各个领域的艺术家在这里短暂停留，使用他们带来的材料，也利用驻地丰富的库存——木材、金属、陶土、墨水、布料，以及过往作品的残留材料——展开创作。
作为交换，大家每周一到周四早上会一同参与园区建设与日常维护。我到访期间，主要的集体项目是搭建一座名为“Wonder Shed”的新棚屋，以钢材、锡片与木材为材，旨在改善园区的实用需求。远离城市的生活节奏，也让我重新找回身体的节律。我每天自然醒来，走进菜园采摘蔬果，看阳光一点点爬上树梢。
这个肖像系列起源于我对空间与人的好奇。我想了解每个人如何在这片临时的空间中安放自己。有些工作室被不同的艺术家轮流使用，而我感兴趣的是，同一间房间如何在不同人的手中被改造与重新定义，以及这些变化如何反映出他们各自的特质。摄影成了我的切入口，让我得以看到他们如何工作，感受到他们的状态，以及在这同样的墙壁与桌面上，如何建构出各自独有的存在。