Faculty of Art

Photography

Haosu Pei

Return with the Wind

The series "Return with the Wind" is a set of photographs of two groups of small-sized wooden installations, it explores the relationship between people and land from both sides while discussing the deeper issues behind it.

“Part 1 of Return with the Wind is named Other Mountains, the Other Mountains features a set of small size wooden installations that are made to the likeness of Snow Mountains on the Tibetan Plateau that is widely considered guardian deities by the Tibetan people. Part 1 discusses the identity of “home” and the role of land within the relationship between people and land. When looking at this work, I encourage you to think about the connections, separations, immigration and the hidden political violence behind them.Part 2 of Return with the Wind is a set of photos of wooden installations of the side figures of human faces shot on the shore of Toronto Islands. This part represents the “people” portion of the relationship between people and land. This part is created for those who are forced to leave their homeland, to abandon their connection with their rooted lands. In this part of the series, I wish you, the viewers, to think of sympathy, and to consider the deeper issues behind this separation of people and “homeland”.this artwork is based on the discussion of home, immigration and politics, presented in the form of sculpture and photography. It started with many inspirations from different artists, photographers, sculptors and poems, but also a reflection on my personal experience and in memory of those forced to leave their homes by political violence. I hope this work can inspire the public to look at the political issues that most people ignore that happen elsewhere, the deeper reasons and real problems behind immigration displacement and other social issues. In order to get the whole society to reflect on and be aware of those issues.”