Homecoming
Greg Lin Jiajie is a lens-based artist and a fine art photographer currently located in London. His narratives are tightly connected to Greg’s personal experiences and emotional connection to the topics of research. Some of the main themes Greg addresses are his hometown of Longyan in Fujian, the relationship with his twin brother as in the project Longyan Boys, and the concept of home through a metaphysical perspective. Homecoming is Greg’s ongoing photographic project and the first solo exhibition that was presented in Studio 59, London, and supported by Peach/ pages, a platform that
assists Asian artists with exhibitions and print. Homecoming breaks down the idea of home into two pillars, one connected to the memory, the beautiful place of growing up and coming of age, and the other one, connected to reality and changes that bring a peril of destruction to that place from memory. The painful realization of the dramatic changes brings to light the challenges that the village is facing as Greg puts it, “Homecoming is a peaceful protest against the rapid industrialisation of my hometown, centring the community at risk of being left behind.“
In this conversation, we speak with Greg about his collaboration with Peach/ pages and work on the exhibition, the significance of the concept of home, and the translation of this idea to organize the physical space in the gallery. We discuss what the concept of ‘home’ means to Greg and how the memory of his hometown is different from his recent experience of coming back to the place of childhood. We finish our conversation with a short glimpse at his project, Longyan Boys, and the reconnection with his twin brother, which was translated into the portrait series.
Presented by PEACH PAGES
Kristina Pringle
Soyoung
Studio 59
Exhibition Details
Studio 59 59 Old Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 6QA
‘This show is very dear to my heart in the sense that it was about my hometown and the challenges it's facing.’
Homecoming
Hi Greg, we’re so happy to get a chance to speak with you again, this time about your first solo show in London, Homecoming. Congratulations on that! How do you feel?
Thank you! It is so great to be speaking again. It has been overwhelming, with Homecoming being my first solo exhibition in London. However, I am super excited to see this finally coming together and extremely grateful that I am able to share my work with friends and the local London community.
What was the process of preparing for the exhibition, selecting the images, and working with the space like for you?
I was very lucky to be working with Peach/ pages on this exhibition. Peach/ pages is a community-led platform that celebrates Asian artists in the UK by creating a supportive and empowering environment for artists to showcase their work. Having that kind of support network was essential, as I couldn’t have done it alone. I’m incredibly grateful to Kristina and Soyoung for their unconditional support and effort.
This show is very dear to my heart in the sense that it was about my hometown and the challenges it's facing. For that reason, I felt that the process of developing the exhibition was a very personal experience. Therefore we curated with warmth in the centre of it all. We made sure to create enough space for each viewer to feel welcomed and at home within the exhibition space.
Aside from the exhibition itself, the most rewarding experience I have discovered throughout this process of creating Homecoming was the love and support I received from the community of Peach/ pages. Being in London, somewhere so far away from home, to be able to experience the emotional connection and empowerment within our community was the most special thing.
‘Today, a large part of the village has been deserted; with more factories moving in or around the village. The damage rural industrialisation has done to the local community is undeniable.’
The Narrative
The story is of you coming home to your hometown, Longyan, which you documented in various series to rediscover and re-experience it. You describe the project as a peaceful protest — Homecoming is also a peaceful protest against the rapid industrialisation of the artist’s hometown, centring the community at risk of being left behind.” Could you tell about Longyan, as you remember it, and how you perceive it today?
My brother and I grew up in our hometown Longyan, Fujian. We spent our entire childhood there, surrounded by mountains and trees. Our village was tiny but beautiful. I remember every summer, a pond outside of our house always had lotus blooming; the stream was always very clear, and we used to put our hands in to feel the cool water to freshen up. The field was busy. Every family had their own land to grow different vegetables or fruits, which was common for everybody to farm. The village was alive.
Today, a large part of the village has been deserted; with more factories moving in or around the village. The damage rural industrialisation has done to the local community is undeniable. Slowly, more people are moving away due to the rapid changes to the village, and everything we used to love and cherish seems to have been left behind. For that reason, I wanted to voice my concern and raise awareness about this change through photographic prints I have created over the years in my hometown.
‘‘Home,’ to me, is where you grew up, where your roots are from. It is the place that shapes you as an individual and where you develop your values.’
My Ancestral Home
Several images in the series have the title My Ancestral Home. What is ‘home,’ what is the feeling of home, and what is the difference in the experience of ‘home’ where you grew up, your ancestors grew up in contrast to the ‘home’ you have today?
‘Home,' to me, is where you grew up, where your roots are from. It is the place that shapes you as an individual and where you develop your values. That being said, ‘Home’ can be my hometown, where my ancestral home is, the house my family has held on to and passed down through the generations. ‘Home’ can also be the space I’ve carved for myself in London, where my ever-supporting friends take centre stage.
Longyan Boys
And just before we finish our conversation, I’d love to ask you about your project Longyan Boys. Your twin brother is one of the main characters in your self-portraits work. What was the most memorable moment of your reconnection after a long time of living apart?
Longyan Boys is a self-portrait series I created with my twin brother after years of us being apart. When we think about a reunion, we almost always expect it to be emotional and dramatic. The fact is, none of it really happened between us. The way it played out for us was somewhat awkward initially and got more intimate along the way. I don’t think a particular moment was memorable to me during our time together. Still, I consider the entire experience of us getting back to each other and then trying to get to know each other again to be memorable. All the conversations we had, the places we visited together... at the moment you wouldn't consider it special or important, after carefully reflecting on them afterwards, they all came together. They turned into this entire series of works. I believe it is how it should be because that is the truth of rebuilding a relationship.
