A Serendipitous Journey

  • Shihui Yang
A Serendipitous Journey is a series of double exposed photographs of 11 different cities and places around Europe taken using a serendipitous approach. It also serves as a self-reflection for myself to evaluate my practice and habit. Social documentary photographer, Garry Winogrand once said that, ‘... the photograph should be more interesting or more beautiful than what was photographed.’ Having this in mind, I started experimenting with double exposure photography using an unconventional way a friend told me about years ago. Never did I expect that I would experience such serendipitous moments from the outcome and I have since discovered a lot about myself. Be it the composition of the photograph or the subject matter, there seems to be a pattern I never knew about. I am pleasantly surprised when I see two images that were taken at two different places and time turned out to be aligned and blended in so well that it looks like one image. That is when I realised I compose my photographs in a certain way and this is my serendipitous moment. Serendipity - the act of making unexpected yet intuitive discoveries – may seem like a happy accident at first sight. However it would just be mere accident if there were no sagacity. It is a great way to create novelty and as a creative individual, incorporating serendipity in my process serves as an inspiration for my practice. I hope you enjoy my serendipitous journey and that you will experience your serendipitous moment too!