"Dark End Of The Street"
In the shadows of Hong Kong's neon lights, Mei, operates a hair salon that doubles as a brothel. Her hair salon is adorned with aging photographs and worn-out memories. The laughter that echoes through the salon carries echoes of past joys, but beneath the façade of painted smiles and short-lived connections, Mei carries the weight of unspoken sorrows as she presides over this realm of masked desires. The illusion of prosperity masks the loneliness that has engulfed her soul. Her weary eyes reflect the weight of the years she has navigated the shadows of her unconventional existence. She has found little solace in the transient relationships forged within the walls of her brothel, where the flickering neon lights mirror her fleeting happiness in a city that never slows down.
As the hair falls to the floor, accumulating like discarded dreams, Mei finds solace in the chaos of her double life. The relentless rhythm of the scissors mirrors the ticking clock of her fractured reality. In the clandestine underbelly of her salon hides the brothel where the patrons seek refuge from their own disintegrating worlds, oblivious to the despair that binds them all. She orchestrates the dance of desire with a practiced apathy, each cut a subtle rebellion against the monotony of societal norms. Yet, beneath the sheen of severed locks and feigned pleasure, her own rebellion remains a silent scream echoing in the hollow spaces between each heartbeat.
This is Mei's story. She is the subject of this drawing. The drawing is graphite, charcoal and ink on paper.