In “本地人 . THE NATIVE . SWÓJ” I aim to liberate myself from the stereotype of the Westerner in Asia through humor and non-standard behaviors. By mixing Eastern and Western symbols, gestures and attire I wish to blur the obvious categorization of how the person should look and behave. The title of the series is the wish of belonging and a bow towards tolerance, openness and integration – expressed in 3 languages Mandarin, English and Polish – inspires from the possibility of many official languages present in Singapore. “THE NATIVE” examines the identity of an individual positioned between East and West, by acknowledging the roots being born into, as well as acquired cultural choices. As a white woman living in Singapore, with the dream of belonging, I’ve experienced and observed a number of stereotypes which make the integration challenging and prevents form becoming truly “local”. It inspired me to express my affection to Asian culture which I live and breathe and centered my life in it to defy the categorization. The series was realized in Singapore under the Circuit Breaker and border closure. Shot in natural light, this elaborate self-portrait study is also a tribute to simpler, slower life amongst overwhelming digitalization and instantaneous, fast “selfie” impressions.