This project was built around refusal. Refusal to make the creature monstrous. Refusal to let death imagery resolve into spectacle. Zouyu allowed me to examine how benevolence behaves under pressure—how it can become threatening simply by remaining intact. Halloween provided a stage where that contradiction could exist without apology. As…
This project exists somewhere between folklore reconstruction and visual confession. It’s not an illustration of a story I trust completely. It’s a record of ideas that wouldn’t leave me alone. The Tiangou figure allowed me to explore contradictions—protection that feels violent, guardianship that consumes light. Halloween offered a cultural window…