Yihui Zhan

The selected artwork, Outside the Window, is part of my ‘Sojourn’ series. My inspiration came from Bible verse Hebrews 11:13 “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.”

Every time that I walk down the roads of my hometown, in Hengyang, China, I am reminded of ephemerality and eternality, hope and desperation, crumbling fences and dilapidated walls that were once splendid and magnificent, and how prosperity on Earth fades. How to live in the world is a paramount question to me and the words of the Bible – belief, hope, and especially love – have lightened up the way ahead of me.