Since late 2019, a pandemics has taken the world by storm, forced billions of people into lockdown and is profoundly reshaping our lives. For many this is a novel experience, but for those who have survived leprosy outbreaks of the last decade, this may feel like a déjà-vu.

From 1956, the PRC government took large-scale segregation measures to contain the leprosy spread, sending hundreds of thousands of patients to be isolated on far-flung mountains and islands. Hundreds of leprosy settlements, called “lepers’ villages”, were formed across the country. During the decades-long isolation, while their inhabitants bore the stigma associated with the disease and suffered from injustice according to historical factor. When the segregation was finally lifted in the late 1980s, many of them had died, whereas few among the living found opportunities to leave, cause severe population ageing problem in most of the villages today. This historical chapter is now nearing its end.

How to avoid the repetition of history?

Our land is full of differentiation between rich and poor, but even in poverty, there are inequalities. How to heal the pain? Is it possible for humans to move on in ruins? I intend to use photography to find out.