Gallery 26 – Xioufei

Fifteen years ago in 2010, I had the opportunity to photograph Xioufei in my Chai Wan studio. He was exceedingly shy in front of the camera—obviously tense and nervous. I had always been attracted to him, even though he could be irritable. Why the irritability? Because he lacked confidence in himself. Perhaps he never came to terms with loving himself enough to see his own beauty. In him, I sensed a troubled mind battling something that only he could resolve internally.

When I reached out to him about these images, I told him they were very good—that they captured an innocent strength and handsome beauty that would be desirable to many. But he seemed reluctant to release them. They stayed in my archives until this year, 2025.

I asked him why now. He simply said he felt bad. Regardless of what changed his mind about the photographs, I think the time that has elapsed serves as a buffer, a cushion between who he is now and who he was then. That distance, perhaps, has allowed him to separate from a previous identity.