I Am with Me by Li Aixiao, created in early 2020 in Chengdu, China, documents the photographer's encounters within the private spaces of strangers during the COVID-19 lockdown. Prompted by isolation and the collapse of routine social interaction, the project stages intimate exchanges as a way to reconnect with others beyond the virtual realm.
Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, I Am with Me emerged from a moment of heightened physical and emotional separation. Li, facing the psychological toll of confinement, sought connection not through digital means but by physically entering the homes of strangers. These encounters became quiet acts of defiance and empathy, resisting the prescribed distances of the time.
I Am with Me relies on a participatory method that blurs conventional boundaries of portraiture. Li immerses herself in her subjects' personal spaces, both physically inhabiting their environments and symbolically engaging with their lived experience. Each session involved shared vulnerability: subjects undressed, and Li donned their clothes, creating a moment of mutual identification. The unclothed body, often considered taboo in Chinese cultural history, is here reframed not as erotic but as a gesture toward authenticity. The images contemplate how space, dress, and bodily presence shape our understanding of who we are, and how these dynamics influence our relationships. Ideas of "becoming" one another and mutual healing animate the work.
Photographically, the series departs from Li's earlier studio-based, black-and-white aesthetic. Working in domestic environments, she uses available light, yielding color images that are at once composed and spontaneous. The photos bear a sense of restrained intimacy; moments appear both curated and casually lived-in, reminiscent of family snapshots. Visual cues—mirrors, pets, soft furnishings—underscore the closeness and peculiarity of home life.
Shown at Head On Photo Festival, Sydney (2022) and later in Mantova’s Biennale della Fotografia Femminile (2024), the series also earned a TIME/ASMP “Human Element” Impact award. Press and juries have emphasized its restrained intimacy and participatory method as a counterpoint to pandemic isolation.
