Lost in Hometown
Migration is a mutual gaze that transforms familiar sceneries into something foreign, while etching unfamiliar streets into memory. In this state of perception—constantly shifting between place and identity—artist Cen Boxuan uses imagery to capture the cold light and shadows of foreign lands, while also reflecting on the dust and textures of his homeland.
The exhibition “Lost in Hometown” is not merely a chronological retrospective, but a path woven through emotion and memory: from the isolation of being abroad, to the dislocation of returning home, and finally to a mutual, permeating reconciliation.
Cen Boxuan’s photography persistently seeks an exit at the edges of light and shadow. In Tokyo, he immersed himself between the neon waterfalls of Shibuya and the darkened corners of Shinjuku, navigating through both crowds and solitude. The camera lens is both a cage and a vent—much like a rodent foraging through cracks in concrete, embodying a stubborn will to survive amid inner fractures. Each shutter release is both a scar left by a trapped creature and a strike against nothingness. In a downward-spiraling gaze, he grasps a bitter yet genuine sense of freedom.
After returning to his hometown post graduation, his vision, gradually recalibrated by life abroad, found that once-familiar streets and fields no longer aligned with memory or imagination, instead provoking a strong sense of “rejection.” With time, observation, and detachment, that sharp sensation softened. His homeland enveloped him with a quiet resilience, allowing the ruptures to scar over without continued pain; those once-jarring elements slowly integrated into the rhythm of everyday life.
The three exhibition spaces mirror different phases of the artist’s journey: the gloom and solitude of Japan, the juxtaposition of Tokyo and hometown imagery, and the return to the ordinary flow of life back home. Geography and time migrate; identity and belonging are negotiated, creating a threshold between rupture and integration. Between the afterglow of neon and the dust-lit fields, he carves with imagery a path of return—one that belongs both to the past and leads into the present.
Along this journey paved with light and shadow, “Lost in Hometown” is a visual experiment on redefining belonging within fluid modernity. For those navigating various corners of contemporary society, it may also reflect a universal state of existence: “Have we all become strangers in our own hometowns?”
故乡陌路人
迁徙是一种双向的凝视，它让原本熟悉的风景变得陌生，也让陌生的街道刻入记忆。在这种地域与身份之间不断切换的感知状态下，艺术家岑柏轩用影像呈现着异乡的冷光与幽影，也回望着故土的尘土与纹理。
展览《故乡陌路人》，并非简单的时序回顾，而是一条情绪与记忆交织的路径：从异地的孤绝，到归乡的错位，再到彼此渗透的和解。
岑柏轩的摄影，总是在光影的边缘寻找出口。在东京，他置身于涩谷的霓虹瀑布与新宿的暗角之间，穿行于人潮与孤寂。镜头是牢笼，也是呼吸口，如同啮齿动物在钢筋水泥的夹缝中觅食，带着生存的倔强与内心的裂痕。每一次快门，既是困兽的抓痕，也是向虚无的反击——在向下坠落的凝视中，他触碰到一种苦涩而真实的自由。
毕业后回到故乡，眼睛逐渐被异乡调校。曾经熟悉的街道与田野，不再契合记忆或想象，反而引发一种强烈的“排异反应”。带着观察和疏离，时间把这种尖锐的感觉稀释，故乡以不动声色的韧性包裹着他，让割裂的痕迹不再生疼；那些曾经的突兀，也在日常节奏中慢慢融入画面的整体。
三个展览空间亦是艺术家不同阶段的映照：日本的幽暗与孤影，东京与故乡景象的并置，以及回到故乡的日常与生活。地理与时间在迁徙，身份与归属感在协商，形成割裂与重合的临界。在霓虹的余晖与乡野的尘光之间，他以影像刻下了一条既属于过去、也通向当下的回返之路。
在这条由光影铺就的旅程中，《故乡陌路人》是一场关于如何在流动的现代性中重新定义归属的视觉实验。对于当代社会奔波在不同角落的人而言，或许这也是一种普遍的生存状态：我们是否不同程度上成为故土的异乡人？