“ZIRAN” explores the concept of being transitory, momentary and existing only briefly. It haunts natural objects typically found in nature where its value and endurance can be figuratively ravaged by its own materiality and fragility. The ephemeral essence of these botany portraits is inspired by Lao Zi’s philosophical concept of Ziran 自然.

As Professor Qingjie James Wang explains: The philosophical importance of our understanding of Ziran 自然 as “it-self-becoming” or “it-self-so-ing” (be-ing) consists in a two-fold implication of the term. It emphasizes that all things in the universe, (including human beings), by their different, unique but correlated ways of being, i.e., coming, growing, flourishing, ripening, declining and dying, provide a picture of organic differentiating within the larger process of the universe as a whole. According to this interpretation of Ziran, everything in the universe is both its way of self-be-coming and asks to be left alone in the process of such be-coming or it-self-so-ing. Although this project is mainly inspired by the Eastern philosophy, coincidentally the Heraclitean philosophy of Τὰ πάντα ῥεῖ reveals a bond between them. The idea of “becoming” is an essential understanding of the changing nature of objects with the flow of time; Heraclitus perceives the cosmos as a continuance.

Photography is chosen in order to accentuate observation as opposed to intervention through the process of time. It enables the creation of instances which can then correlate with each other creating a flow of time or a series of moments; it reflects, imprints or captures the actual process of ephemerality. This may in turn correlate the sectioning notion of human intervention confronted to the boundaries of the Anthropocene era.

Ziran is a photographic approach in terms of portraiture that pertains to the living plants whose portraits change continuously. The plants’ fragility and sensitivity determine the potential time span for observation. This varies from hours, days or even months. The natural environment; humidity, heat and air circulation affect its physical transition. While these transitions are observed, the aesthetic “ideal” moment is selected to make the portrait of a particular plant.

The result of this étude reveals to me that with the environmental attributes, as long as the plants maintain their maternal essence, they will continue to evolve.