Etang Chen: FFFF
Born in 1983, Taipei, Taiwan.
05.08.2022
The series FFFF is a collection of photos from Etang Chen’s first photo zine with the same name, published in 2017 by Taipei based indie label Waiting Room.
“How do I explain what “FFFF” means to someone non-chinese speaking? Let me try! The four letters represent four Chinese words – they have almost the same pronunciation but have very different meanings. Should I translate the words into English, it would be flying, fat, villian, refuse. It’s like the world’s shortest poem!” – Etang Chen
In FFFF, Chen explores the term waste and what waste might mean. Waste of resources. Waste of time. Waste of money. In the series he has depicted many different people and situations over time. In working with this theme, he found that these four words “FFFF” – associates with the act of wasting.
Etang Chen is born in 1983 in Taipei, where he’s still living and working. In his late 20s he left his job as a vet to follow his dream to become a professional photographer. Apart from working with commissions, he has a large focus on his personal projects. By involving underground cultural scenes and by his far-range attention towards details of daily life, he has shaped a unique style in his works through his alternative perspective towards his surroundings.