All images ©Xia Tio
I came across Xia Tio´s work some time ago and so I was really pleased when she sent me a couple of choice images from her series Nowhere, the strength of which resides in its stellar portraiture. Regarding the project Xia writes:
"Nowhere explores the transitory state of cultural identity. We don’t always accept transition, since we feel most comfortable when we have reached a state of stability in our lives. The one constant refuge for us is the idea of home. The notion of self is changed with time as it is pulled, pushed and transformed until one day it becomes. I am intrigued by the way we present ourselves both inside and outside of our private space, in a place that leaves us with nothing but our own personal association. The contact from one person to another is an exchange, at times its quiet, sometimes isolated, at other times there is an understanding and it slowly begins to reveal itself."
Xia was born in Cologne Germany, 1976 and is now based in Brooklyn, New York. She is of an Indonesian Chinese background and was transplanted to the United States at the age of 16. In 2003 she attended the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam Holland, she continued his studies in Photography at the of School of Visual Arts and she obtained his BFA in 2008. In 2006 she received an honorable mention from the Jen Bekman Gallery and in 2008 from PX 3 Paris.
