hello, i'm kai
a creator, a collaborator and a storyteller.
i am a caffeine-fueled designer, photographer, illustrator; creative based
in auckland. a night lurker and a coffee-shop local, a second-year communication design student here at AUT. my days, more so my nights that are lit by the light from my laptop screen are spent thinking and creating. in the heart of my practice is the constant theme of identity and representation. my love for the world and fascination for the people who inhabit it has been the constant fuel of my journey as a creative, along with coffee of course!
long time no see is an ongoing portraiture series that explores themes of nostalgia and reconnection through ambient light. the subjects in these photographs are my friends; some i see everyday, and some i haven't seen in several years. this series was shot in albert park, mt roskill grammar school field and random parks in our neighbourhoods. Throughout my life light has always been an enemy, coming from manila to auckland at the age of thirteen i was raised not to bask in the sun for too long and avoid it all cost. Throughout this series, I overcome my fear of light. Through this light, i relive as I reminisce the days where i’d spend the whole day bathed out in the sun on the grass after school (sorry mum) and until the sun would set and it’s time for me to go home. I now see light and it’s presence in it’s different forms as a way me to reconnect, to relive and to remember.
this is what new zealand is to me. it's the grass, the sky, the wind, the people. it's the daisy chains, the soil stuck under my shoes, the windy days, the sunsets, the people. new zealand is home.
thank you for viewing my application, may you see brighter days ahead and may love facilitate your space.
love, kai.
instagram https://www.instagram.com/thatconcept/
facebook https://www.facebook.com/thatconcept/
email kaiconj@gmail.com
Submitted to Ello Invite: MOONLIGHT 2019
