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In this article titled "Through the Lens of Time: Reconstructing Identity and Intimacy in Photography", the scholar Zhao Shuting explores the series "Longyan Boys" created by Greg Lin Jiajie, a Chinese fine art photographer based in London. Noted for his intimate approach to photography, Greg's work displays a strong sense of narrative throughout, from documenting life in his hometown Fujian to self-portraits with his identical twin brother.
Greg Lin Jiajie
Through the Lens of Time: Reconstructing Identity and Intimacy in Photography
-- Written by Zhao Shuting
Twins have been a source of fascination and inspiration for artists throughout history, from ancient myths and legends to contemporary works of art. The visual aspect of twins, with their identical appearances, provides visual artists the natural challenge of capturing uncanny symmetry, sameness, yet also nuanced difference. Additionally, the unique bond between twins, as well as the idea of two individuals sharing a single identity, provides ample material for artists to delve into the complex themes of identity, individuality, and relationships. However, a visual narrative of the identity of the twins from the perspective of an insider, which means an artist who is one of the twins, might break the stereotypical imagination and observation of twins from an outsider's perspective.
Greg Lin Jiajie is one of these insiders. Up until the age of 16, Greg and his identical twin brother Lin Jiahao shared relatively similar experiences growing up in the city of Longyan, located in China’s southeastern Fujian province. Despite being considered lucky to have two children in a time when most Chinese families were limited to just one, they also experienced their own inner struggles with this innate marker of identity. As with most twins growing up, they are always dressed alike, juxtaposed, compared and discussed. Attention will always be automatically divided equally between the other one, when people find out that one of them is a twin.
Then “a turning point” arrived as Greg said, at 16, he journeyed solo to New Zealand to study, while his twin brother Jiahao remained in Longyan. Living abroad alone gave him the opportunity to reshape his individual identity, and even for a long time, he no longer took the initiative to mention to others that he had a twin brother. Gradually, Greg has achieved to be seen as just himself, while the two brothers drifted away too.
Years after, Greg has finally reconciled with who he is and has found comfortable ways to accept himself. Since 2018, he began to look back and reconstruct his relationship with his brother through photography. Longyan Boys, the ongoing series were born out as a record of time to retrace the journey growing up between the twin brothers in their familial rural but serene hometown. “I wanted to recreate the best moments with him from my memories, and of course to bond with him once again,” as Greg said.
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The initial idea for the series Longyan Boys came to Greg while going through their family albums. He stumbled upon an old photo of himself and his twin, with the phrase "golden childhood" in Chinese written beneath it. The photo brought him back to memories of their idyllic childhood, where Greg and his twin spent many summers at their grandparents' countryside home, enjoying each other's company. As is customary, especially in the days before digital photography became widespread, on-camera appearance mostly occurred around children, and people will not be featured as the central character as he or she was during childhood.
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With his Longyan Boys series, Greg seized the chance to capture himself and Jiahao, through the lens during their adult years, using this project as an opportunity to spend time with his twin reestablish connections, and gain a better understanding of him.
These efforts and attempts can be traced in Greg's on-camera narrative. When it comes to technical ability, there is no doubt that the photographs are technically mature, in which we could see his perfect handing of light in a spotlessly clear way with a crisp focal aperture. As a fashion photographer, Greg has collaborated with many high-profile brands and publications such as Vogue, GQ, Miu Miu, Gucci and Paul Smith, to mention only some. Longyan Boys exhibits a similar cinematic technique and aesthetics to certain elements found in Greg’s fashion pieces — a sense of immaculate cleanliness and an element of detachment.
In the Longyan Boys series, Greg's talent for a subtle portrayal of emotions is evident, which is also a feature that he is known for in his work. Even though the majority of shots captured the twins in a straightforward and simple profile way, there are various specific elements that reveal the intricate emotional and identity dynamics between the two brothers. For instance, the close-ups of the checkers board and the interlocking arms of the two brothers show both their mutual companionship and a deep sense of mutual involvement, competition and bonding. For outsiders, we are often stuck with the viewing experience of distinguishing the two through nuance. But for Greg, it is clearly a visual project about a private perspective, an exploration and reflection on the twinship based on their own experiences and memories. Greg usually found inspiration by paying close attention to personal feelings around the little things in daily life, which can be represented that his delicate perspective rests on a knee that is bleeding slightly from knocked skin after jumping into a summer pond. The twins jumping into a cool lake does not always represent the joyful sibling playtimes, but also includes the stumbles and bumps in the relationship. The pleasure that intimacy brings will remain deep in the memory, but so will the pain, although it will fade with time, just as new, intact skin will grow to cover the wounds of the past.
Although the perspective is profoundly personal and the memories are confined to the twins, the portraits are emotionally charged, with a childlike nostalgia, which is enough to make viewers resonate with their own childhood and upbringing. Despite being a memory-based photographic project, most of the photographs are obliterated of a very obvious sense of the period, which may also be the artist's own silent protest against too rapid industrialization and urbanization. For example, the scenes of the two brothers on a tricycle in Warrior sneakers that is a Chinese brand used to be highly popular in the 70s and 80s, or crouching under a corner with a bucket hat and smoking a Chunghwa cigarette, can make you confuse whether you are looking at the China of the beginning of the millennium or the China of today. Time flows at an extremely slow pace in this project.
Shot since 2018 in his hometown of Longyan in China’s Fujian province, the deeply autobiographical ongoing project also bears the regional stamp of a village unique to western Fujian —— the paddy fields and the red clay characteristic of the Fujian region. Exhibited in Xiamen as part of the Local Action group show Them in 2022 Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival, the Longyan Boys series presents viewers with what the artist describes as “localness”.
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Greg's photographs bring an up-close and personal emotional writing, a locally grown intimacy. The treatment is also very serene and stretched out in a narrative style, as gentle as the local climate of Fujian brings to the style. The misty atmosphere envelopes everything in a tender embrace, and the earth responds in kind, lush and green.
Photography often serves as a prism through which relationships of all kinds can be examined and reflected upon. From exploring the private and intimate connections between oneself, family members, friends, and partners, to capturing the collective identity of a home, nation, or country, photography offers an inspiring means of introspection and reflection. For Greg, who has been separated from his twin brother since adolescence and has started his art life, photography is his way to reflect and reconstruct the intimate twin relationship, which led to the creation of the Longyan Boys series. His brother Lin Jiahao, on the other hand, while who has taken a different path in life, may have a different perspective on their relationship in his unique way.
Notes
1. Lin, G. (2018, July 19). Portraits of Chinese twins recreating their most intimate childhood moments. i-D. https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/qvmbyw/portraits-of-chinese-twins-recreating-their-most-intimate-childhood-moments
2.
Chalfen, R. (1987). Snapshot versions of life. Bowling Green State University Popular Press.
3. Whitfield, Z. (2022, November 30). Five Image-Makers to Watch From China's Best Photography Fair. Another Mag. https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/14549/jimei-x-arles-2022-international-photo-festival-daniel-jack-lyons
About the writer
Zhao Shuting is a PhD candidate at L'École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS). Her research topic is "Tracing Chinese Private Life Visual Narrative: A Study of Vernacular Photographs and Videos from the Post-Cultural Revolution to the Pre-Digital Era (1978-2000s)”. Interested in Chinese contemporary art and photography, she also works as a freelance translator and contributor.
About the photographer
Greg Lin Jiajie is a Chinese fine art photographer based in London. Noted for his intimate approach to photography, Greg's work displays a strong sense of narrative throughout, from documenting life in his hometown Fujian to self-portraits with his identical twin brother. Greg treats photography as a profoundly personal and emotional experience.
More information:
www.greglinjiajie.com
