This series of portraits depicts friends I met in France. Since I began working as a French-Chinese court interpreter for the French judiciary in 2023, I’ve developed an interest in human faces. During court hearings, my task is to translate what people say using the first person — and in doing so, it feels as though I’ve lived through many different stories.

I’ve come to realize that no matter how closely I observe a person’s face, I can never truly know what they have experienced.

Through painting, I try to present each individual without judgment. I also want those I portray to have the opportunity to share their own stories — that’s why I’ve written down what they’ve told me about themselves.

The portraits and the texts exist independently. No matter how expressive a painting may be, we may never fully grasp what the person wants to say. I believe that painting, too, should remain humble before every individual.