Fùxīng Lù
Oil on canvas · 80 × 120 cm · 2024
Fùxīng Lù is a quiet street in Shanghai’s old French Concession, all plane trees and small shops, with a coffee shop every few doors. One of them had a big glass front, and the room behind it looked nice, so I took a photo through the window with my phone and walked on.
I didn’t look at it again for years. When I finally did, going through old travel pictures, one thing jumped out: the place was full, everyone packed in around tiny tables — and half of them were staring at a phone. So was I, technically. That’s how the photo got taken.
That’s what I ended up painting: a warm, crowded room where everyone is together and nobody is quite there.