Your Home is Yourself
Living between different countries might seem cool—at least it did when I was younger. But as I grew older, a sense of loneliness crept in, along with a longing for some undefined connection or emotion. There were moments when I wondered, if all I ever truly own are three suitcases, then what really belongs to me? And what is this overwhelming feeling of powerlessness in the face of an ever-changing, globalized world?
I started pondering the true meaning of home, thinking that perhaps you only understand it when you lose it. Over time, I realized that home might not be a specific place at all, but rather a mix of longing, emotional connection, and belonging. Then, a wise, grandfatherly friend offered me these words of insight: “EL HOGAR ERES TÚ”—“Your Home is Yourself.” In that moment, I understood that home isn’t something external at all; it is simply found within oneself.
In this editorial environmental portrait project, I invited models—primarily academic researchers—to embody a spectrum of emotions, both overt and subtle, that I’ve experienced at different points in my life. I used an immediate imaging technique and relied solely on ambient light to reflect the natural, everyday environments in which these feelings often arise.
Website: www.xiatongphotography.com
