Today, Tomorrow, and the Tales from the Wind 今天、明日和风中故事

Photography, Sound, and Performance
2023 - Ongoing

In the photography series, I treat images as signals, sent back and forth between my current home and the place I left behind.

I overlap the photographs taken in my homeland with those captured during my stays in Finland and Iceland, re-composing them together in a way that reimagines a utopian world of dreams, hope, and human nature co-existence. Through double exposure, I merge the light of my hometown’s lighthouse with Iceland’s canyons; the city lights of my homeland encircle a boy standing in a Finnish forest; trees from my homeland are transplanted into Icelandic landscapes, barren due to deforestation and climate change, and other various photographic elements that are connected in hidden but delicate manners. The documentary nature of the images transforms into a space for imagined realities.

"Today, Tomorrow, and the Tales from the Wind" is a long-term exploration of human-nature’s paralleled phenomena and the nomadic search for a sense of homeland.

The images are created by overlaying photos taken in China with those taken in Finland and Iceland. These visual metaphors reimagine a fragile utopia—a fable about our uncertain future and the shifting natural and political landscapes. The project is rooted in my grief over the destruction of a childhood forest in their hometown, starting when I left for a new country.

Inspired by local stories and myths, the work reflects the my migrating journey, reimagining personal and collective narratives into a broader reflection on deforestation and other ecological degradation issues associated with loss, migration, and belonging.

Listen to the Sound Art Album “Today, Tomorrow, and the Tales from the Wind”

Artist Statement about the Project

Tianjun Li, 2024

This project, which began in 2023, represents my ongoing interdisplinary exploration of photograph and sound. It includes a photography series, a sound art album, video works, and live performances. Beyond exhibitions, the project has been presented as visual concerts and in the form of an artist book and record. It started from my reflections on the deforestation happening both in my homeland and Finland, as well as an exploration of the interconnectedness between humans and nature. Over time, it expanded into a broader contemplation of the search for home, deeply influenced by my experiences of living in Finland and Iceland after leaving home.

In the photography series, I treat images as signals, sent back and forth between my current home and the place I left behind. I recompose photographs taken in my homeland with those captured during my stays in Finland and Iceland, re-composing them together in a way that reimagines a utopian world of dreams, hope, and human nature co-existence. Through double exposure, I merge the light of my hometown’s lighthouse with Iceland’s canyons; the city lights of my homeland encircle a boy standing in a Finnish forest; trees from my homeland are transplanted into Icelandic landscapes, barren due to deforestation and climate change, and other various photographic elements that are connected in hidden but delicate manners. The documentary nature of the images transforms into a space for imagined realities.

In this project, I also began exploring sound and the human voice. As a synesthete, I naturally see images in sound. The project culminated in a music album that serves as a soundtrack to the photography series. Using my own vocal experiments, field recordings from Iceland and Finland, as well as recordings from my homeland, I reassembled these elements to create a wordless soundscape that reflects themes of migration, self-exploration, and coexisting with nature, as well as the search for the meaning of home. When we return to being creatures—just humans—the wordless voice carries the power of speech.

Example page from the Photobook TODAY, TOMORROW, AND THE TALES FROM THE WIND

1839 Award Exhibition, Contemporary Image Museum, Chengdu international Photography Festival, 2023

International Photography and Media Art Festival, M. Žilinskas Art Museum, Kaunas, LT, 2024
Photo: Lukas Smetaninas

Tianjun Li: Today, Tomorrrow, and the Tales from the Wind, Photo North-Northern Photographic Centre (FI), 2024

Tianjun Li: Today, Tomorrrow, and the Tales from the Wind, Photo North-Northern Photographic Centre (FI), 2024

Slideshow at Fotobus and POLYCOPIES, During Paris Photo 2024

Photography - Sound Performance, Helsinki, 2023

A Whale’s Sympathy, Performance, Reykjavík, Iceland, 2023

Photo- Sound Artist Book, 2024

Timjune Tianjun Li 李天竣

Current and Past Exhibitions Sound Art and Music Performances Projects

Photo- Sound Artist Book : Today, Tomorrow, and the Tales from the Wind Today, Tomorrow, and the Tales from the Wind Of Stone, Wood, Light, and WhatFrom Aranya to Qinhuangdao La Luna y el Hacedor Village of Oblivion A Goat in Blue

Video Projects Free as Birds (2024) Hymn to Kalbe (2024) Fireworks, Volcano, Reykjavík (2024) Commissioned and Collaborative Photography BIO/CV

Current and Past Exhibitions

Sound Art and Music Performances
Projects

Photo- Sound Artist Book : Today, Tomorrow, and the Tales from the Wind

Today, Tomorrow, and the Tales from the Wind

Of Stone, Wood, Light, and What

From Aranya to Qinhuangdao

La Luna y el Hacedor

Village of Oblivion

A Goat in Blue

Video Projects

Free as Birds (2024)

Hymn to Kalbe (2024)

Fireworks, Volcano, Reykjavík (2024)

Commissioned and Collaborative Photography

BIO/CV