Jaihang: The Love I Will Never Know

Artist Lin Jaihang

Words Tom Czibolya

All soft lights and no hard feelings – Taipei photographer Lin Jaihang dives into desire and vulnerability in private rooms and behind closed doors. His latest book, Behind The Door, offers a profound exploration of how emotions form and dismantle in modern relationships. Captured through Jaihang’s lens are moments of uncertainty shared between two: lovers to some, strangers to themselves. “Behind every room, there is a story – the beginning or the end of a relationship, which can be both a manifestation of desire and a metaphor for loss.” This idea, dating back to 2022, inspired Jaihang’s Behind The Door, a visual exploration of people in their private spaces.

“After working with nearly 100 strangers, I began to feel a sense of anxiety and unease. Each brief encounter made me feel as though I was addicted to the existence of certain emotions rather than purely understanding or connecting with the other person.”

In Behind The Door, the room serves as a dual symbol of both physical and emotional space, capturing the tension between intimacy and exposure. “It’s a container for emotions,” Jaihang explains. Presenting an extraordinary selection of never-before-seen images, Behind The Door explores some of the contradictions inherent in emotional connections within contemporary LGBTQ+ culture: the struggle to let someone into our worlds while simultaneously finding it difficult to truly open up, let our guard down, and be vulnerable.

Behind The Door by Jaihang is now available for preorder. And also, check out our Love Shop for more books and magazines.

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