葵花籽 (Kuí huā zǐ) are sunflower seeds. They are a common snack in China. People often eat them while waiting for trains, meals, and buses. They are usually offered to others to spend time waiting together. They are a social snack. A snack that first bridges the distance between two strangers.

As a stranger, sunflower seeds offered me little glimpses into the life of others. This collection of pictures documents my experience in China, one sunflower seed at a time: an external view dotted by little internal glimpses. A view that alternates between imposing austere surroundings and timid warm encounters.

This collection also represents a gradual shift from urban to rural china, where oppressing urban surroundings give away to nature, creative expression and people living on the periphery of an authoritarian empire.

The 葵花籽 collection was printed into a hard cover book

2015-2016