"The two main visual elements in this series, pigeon and spider, represent Marfan Syndrome patients, who are also called 'Pigeon Men' or 'Spider Men' due to their long and curved bodily characteristics."
Artist: Fion Hung Ching-Yan
Project: The Ruins of Lost Souls
"The Ruins of Lost Souls is a photo collage series inspired by my research on traditional taboos, bodily discrimination and outcasts during the process of creating my previous work, The Skeletons in the Closet."
"With reference to the symptoms of my family’s genetic disorder- Marfan Syndrome, I have created collaged images with AI generative elements, my body and other props. The two main visual elements in this series, pigeon and spider, represent MFS patients, who are also called 'Pigeon Men' or 'Spider Men' due to their long and curved bodily characteristics. Because of this, MFS patients are usually identified as abnormal people in society. In my family, I’m the only one who has not inherited such a disorder. This makes me question my identity within my family and the definition of ‘normality’ based on the theory of traditional physiognomy.
By performing with pigeon masks and spider props in different abandoned sites in Hong Kong, I try to learn the feeling of being classified as a social outcast. I challenge the idea of eugenics by judging people by their external conditions and its influences and adaptation to the history of racism."
© Fion Hung Ching-Yan
Editor : Mathieu Buchler