Alienation
"The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep."
-T. S. Elliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
In today’s modern urban environment, people often emphasize speed, productivity, and surface-level connection and communication within society. However, in this type of urban environment, the genuine connection between people with each other and the connection between people and the natural environment slowly fade away. Therefore, this project explores how these types of alienation and isolation caused by the urban society and urban environment are revealed in specific examples across all ages and different cultures. Inspired by T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock, this project will be tightly connected to the alienation Prufrock experienced, including social alienation during the party, psychological isolation when being afraid of making a decision, and how the overall ghostly and foggy urban environment impacted Prufrock. Eventually, this project will end with a proposal showing how people should create a more genuine connection with each other in society and how sometimes people should engage with the natural environment more and appreciate nature.


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Paradise

In this picture, people are playing in the snow. There are children, teenagers, adults, and elderly people. Despite the different ages among these people, all of them are enjoying nature, playing, talking, and interacting with each other. The setting is on a field covered by snow and with trees growing out of the ground. The background of this photo is mountains surrounding the whole place. So the overall setting is within nature. Overall, this photo creates a picture of vitality and more importantly—connection.
Isaac, Zhang. The Shadow. 8 Dec. 2023
Isaac, Zhang. The Observer. 21 Dec. 2024
Isaac, Zhang. The Commuter. 10 Feb. 2024
Isaac, Zhang. The Stranger. 18 July. 2023
Isaac, Zhang. The Disconnection. 1 Dec. 2023
Tommy. Qi. Image of an Old Man Looking at a Café. 19 Nov. 2022
Isaac, Zhang. Emptiness. 10 Feb. 2024
Isaac, Zhang. Paradise. 11 Feb. 2024