bio
All images and texts are copyright protected, ©2025 Evelyn Lee
AN OVERLOOK OF: III. BALANCE
Film Photography/Polaroid, Taiwan, 2021
concept and photography Evelyn Lee
model 朱奕安 Yian Zhu, Chester Yang, 磊庭, Vinn, 森森 | makeup 劉磊 Noar | assist 敬忻 Xinn, 帽子 Mao, Ellen, 簡良 | special thanks 子達, 夏葛耳 Geer Xia
“O Röschen rot!
Der Mensch liegt in grösster Not!
Der Mensch liegt in grösster Pein!
Je lieber möcht ich im Himmel sein!
Da kam ich auf einen breiten Weg.
Da kam ein Engelein und wollt mich abweisen.
Ach nein,ich liess mich nicht abweisen!
Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott!
Der liebe Gott wird mir ein Lichtchen geben,
Wird leuchten mir bis in das ewig selig Leben.”
— Symphony No. 2 Resurrection Mov 4 Urlicht by Gustav Mahler, 1888-1894
The third part Balance emphasizes the imperative of creating equilibrium in our fast-paced and dynamic world. It delves into the challenge of establishing and selecting crucial elements
amid the influx of extensive external information. Various media and forms of expression were amalgamated to encourage viewers to read between the lines. Additionally, I endeavored to
intertwine the three themes using an array of shooting techniques and equipment. When initially conceptualizing this segment, my focus lay on the compositional balance and visual
coherence achieved by connecting individual Polaroid photos. However, after capturing a series of photos, I felt it lacked depth. Inspiration struck again, this time drawn from the soprano in
Mahler's second symphony, Resurrection, particularly the fourth movement, Urlicht (Primal Light). Starting with a march titled Totenfeier (Funeral Rites), the lyrics were sourced from the
German folk song Das Knaban Wunderhorn.
In Chinese society, there's often a desire for children to succeed, yet there's a simultaneous wish for them not to stand out too much, aiming for an "average level." In subsequent works, white
symbolizes societal values, with red being the predominant color. The person in red represents "myself," while the person in white signifies the people, groups, and environment surrounding
me. This section features five models arranged in terms of color, direction, and position to align with the third theme. Regardless of gender, all five models have long hair.
“I think of you. Your eyes, nose, and long eyelashes. The scars on your waist, the moles arranged as Orion’s belt, and the intricate folds and dimples on your skin, almost like a silkworm
cocoon. But what drew me to you initially was your voice and the way you spoke. I think of you like an antique painting, or albeit broken but precious edge when lifting the film. As if those
washed clothes were stirred and compressed in the drum of my brain, only the glittering scales remained.”
「我想到妳。眼睛，鼻子，很長的睫毛。打歪的耳洞，腰上的疤，臥蠶褶皺酒窩凹陷的方式，痣像獵戶座腰帶排列。我第一次注意到你是因為聲音，以及說話的方式。我想到妳卻又想不起
來，像房間的一幅老舊的畫，像移膜時殘破卻重要的一角，像洗爛的衣服，在大腦的滾筒裡翻攪壓縮，取出時只剩縫綴的鱗片閃閃發光。我喜歡所有細節無與倫比。」
“Emotions have been crumpled, with a sweet oppression of void. The car behind me looks like a piece of blue graffiti. I am too far away, forming my world outside the cluster of independent
individuals. They think I am too quiet and keep things to myself. They think I am too passionate to stop. They think I am indifferent, but they were the ones who taught me to lose my innocence.
Is it a habit, or an addiction? The empty grasslands, the city lights at the foot of the mountains, the temple fair outside the promenade, the round and big moon, the sweet cakes and candied
haws in hand, the glory and brokenness of the past. Those things I never truly possessed, so I can’t label them as losses. Have you safely landed on the other side with looming flowers? Is it a
place with four distinct seasons and abundant sunshine? Do enchanting gradients of gray waltz arm-in-arm down the street?
「心是皺的，一種抽空的甜美壓迫，酸酸麻麻。後方的車小得剩一塊藍色塗鴉，我已經離得太遠，獨立個體組成的群集外自成一個世界。他們說我安靜得自閉，他們說我亢奮得停不下來。他
們說我無情，他們說我應該收拾過於豐沛的情感。習慣還是癮，空曠茫然的草地，山腳下城燈，長廊外廟會，又圓又大的月，手上的甜餅與糖葫蘆，曾經的榮華與破碎。那些離去但因從未擁
有而無法稱之失去的你們有安穩降落在繁花盛開的另一頭嗎？那邊美嗎，是否有著四季分明的氣候、陽光明媚？迷人的深淺不一的灰色，挽手過街都像華爾滋？」
“In the water, in the lights, in the paradise, as the roller coaster flips 180 degrees, I pull my legs towards the sky to feel a momentary sense of falling. On the cool wooden floor, in the quilt, in
the clouds, wherever we go, and in any way we like, we begin without luggage, discarding all possessive desires. I leave, and sometimes it becomes a kind of obsession, I say I want to leave
for a place where there is no past to chase and no future to run amok. I have seen it several times in my dreams, lifting the hem of my long dress and running barefoot towards the hill’s ruins. It
must have been the most magnificent building destroyed by the most brutal external force to date. An erstwhile grand structure with Romanesque architecture stands dignified after a
hundred years, like a picture painted by the brain with transparent watercolors, or a picture that will be seen when the water vapor wraps the eyeballs. It is clear at certain moments – the
intense calm of being close to death makes me realize that I am alive. If only every door opened was a way home. If only I belonged to myself.”
「在水裡，燈裡，樂園裡，在雲霄飛車一百八十度翻轉時逆著地心引力將雙腿伸向天空，感覺自己稍微往下掉了一點。在涼涼的木地板，被子裡，雲裡，在任何我們想到達的地方以任何我們
喜愛的方式，不帶行李，丟棄所有佔有慾作祟。我離開，有時它成為一種執念，我說我要離開，到沒有過去追趕也沒有未來橫行的地方，我見過好幾次在夢裡，上坡的路段捲起長裙赤著腳
跑，那是一個已經成為廢墟的城市，我不明白它的來歷，想必也曾是最宏美的建築與最殘暴的外力才能摧毀至此、在百年後仍尊嚴矗立，像透明水彩塗抹大腦所產生的畫面，像哭過之後水氣
包裹眼珠會見到的畫面，在某些時刻特別清晰，強烈的平靜得接近死亡使我意識到自己活著。如果每一扇門打開都是回家的路就好了，如果我屬於我就好了。」
She awakens. Stretching limbs. Folding blankets. Grooming. Preparing breakfast. In the room, not so confined as to feel oppressive, everything belongs to her. In the room, not so expansive
as to realize her solitude, everything does not belong to her. Within, something once lifeless stirs again, symmetrically and gently.
她醒來，舒展四肢，摺被子，梳洗，做早餐。在不窄閉以致感到壓迫的房間裡所有一切屬於她。在不空曠得意識到孤身的房間裡所有一切不屬於她。體內某種死去的東西又開始蠢蠢欲動，以
一種勻稱平緩的方式。
Having dreamt. There were the water and bungalows across.
作了一個夢，水邊有樹，對面有平房。
She ponders if it's an afterglow. Sensitively yet indifferent, harmonious...
她想著是不是迴光返照，如此易感又不在乎，如此和諧…