Smoker's Prayer and more art by Qiangwei Xu

[ IVLA - 3rd Place ]
With my hope in the smoke.
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My creative practice explores patterns of behaviour that are easily adopted but difficult to change. This image presented is from a visual inquiry into the habit of smoking in an era where most countries in the world have established smoking-free policies in public spaces. Smoking places are reduced and smokers have become demonized, more conscious than ever of where they can or cannot smoke. But why is it that smokers cannot give up smoking even if they know that smoking has notorious negative effects? Is it submissive behavior or rebellious acceptance? As a former non-smoker, I use analog photography here as a way to open up the conversation with my subjects and learn more about the challenges they face.
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