"Paradise Island Lost" records a unique journey of myself wandering alone on Stuart Island, the southernmost tip of New Zealand, with a 35mm panoramic film camera, during 2020's Christmas time. At that time, I had just finished my undergraduate studies and had not obtained a visa to Australia while the pandemic in my hometown Shanghai was intensifying. Under various mental pressures, I escaped from Auckland and bravely set foot in my last unreached area in New Zealand, where I listened to nature and my inner voice.

I spent the night of New Year's Eve in the Foveaux Hotel in Bluff. That night I had a long dream where I held a camera and stared from the Yan'an Elevated Road in my hometown. Several ambiguous palm trees and silver ferns are far from the smoggy winter skyline. Of course, it is impossible to see this scenery in reality, but as time passes, the plain fields in the memory could also gradually become a silent sea.

The world in front of me could be rich or monotonous. Still, all I could do was watch the world change silently and occasionally photograph momentary impressions, seemingly absurd or real moments, to compose meaningful memories. Photography is a place where the outside world collides with my inner world. Each photo is, therefore, a metaphor for myself.

On the far-off, mysterious but beautiful Stuart Island, I bid farewell to the land where I grew up with genuine wishes, ready to move on to my new phase of life.