EVACHOI

"The Passerby" is inspired by the troubled life of Aisin-Gioro Puyi, China's last emperor. His life is explored, trying to answer two questions: What makes us Humans? What is it to be alive?

"Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains."
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau(1962)

In life there are two things that no organism can control: birth and death. The sentiency of humans allows us to decide only the process of our life between these two points. Some people chase height in the process of life; some people chase length; while others chase depth.

Human do not have eternal life, but we can comprehend the concept of eternity. When we dream of something and then implement that dream, in that moment we are truly alive; that moment is Instant Eternity.

The collection has carefully analysed the clothing of Puyi and his wife, from the Dragon Robes of Puyi's Manchu heritage, through to the clothing of the 1930s, both military and civil. These references are further augmented by the inclusion of embroidered and printed symbols of cranes and chrysanthemums, both of which have extensive and intriguing significances in both China and Japan.