The striking photography of Yung Cheng Lin
In a society which mocks and condemns imperfection as if any kind of form daring to be outside the standard must be severely punished and immediately repressed in order to continue feeding the illusion, the female body has gained a history of being under harsh physical (self)control as a result of imposed ideals of beauty and the need for social acceptance, possible mainly through appearance.
The body always needs to be fixed and must behave itself to reach its ephemeral and purely aesthetic purpose. The media, advertising and fashion industries especially have a powerful contribution to how women nowadays perceive and treat their body, building the obsession of looking good rather than empowering them to enjoy the freedom of feeling good for who they are. In fact, this mirage somehow steals the female identity to offer instead a false promise to be loved and respected in society if they follow the rules.
Although the photography of Yung Cheng Lin, also known as 3cm, is in a way silent, the artist refusing to influence the viewer’s interpretation of his works, we encounter striking images of women sewing their skin, which, considering the gestures of the represented figures, does not seem a way to explore their sexuality, but a painful process, a demonstration of extreme control and discipline.
We notice that some pictures focus on the act itself – the process is continuous, as revealed by the incomplete geometric forms outlined by the movements of the needle – and the lack of blood, suggested only by the red strings and perhaps highlighting the strong endurance in achieving beauty. Interestingly, the face is hidden, thus raising the ambiguity of the work. At the same time, the viewer experiences contradictory states of both the guilty attraction, the temptation given by the nude postures (and possibly induced by the presence of insects in some photographs), and bizarre discomfort, through the irrational and unsettling situations confronting him. But what should concern us is our own interpretation of not only what we see, but of what we fail to understand.
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All images © Yung Cheng Lin