Jiaqi Pan
Jiaqi (Chi) Pan was born and raised in China. She received her BA in Photography from the University of Alabama (2016) and an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania (2018). Working primarily with photography, she is interested in exploring her relationship with strangers, time, and herself.
She has had solo exhibitions at The Gallery at Delaware County Community College, Media, and at the Sella-Granata Art Gallery, Tuscaloosa. Her works have been presented in group exhibitions both nationally and internationally, including David Nolan Gallery, New York; FJORD, Philadelphia; China Pingyao International Photography Festival, Pingyao, China; Venice Grand Canal, Venice; Medina Art Gallery, Rome; Center for Contemporary Arts, Abilene; and others.
She lives and works in New Jersey and Toronto.
Artist Statement
My artistic practice begins with a subtle yet profound moment: a stranger’s simple “OK.” This brief consent marks the start of collaboration and opens a space shaped by trust, negotiation, and restraint. Within this space, I do not seek emotional intimacy or narrative disclosure, but instead rely on a consciously maintained distance. This distance grants both myself and the subject the freedom to preserve our respective identities while creating a framework for exploring relationships and meaning.
I regard portrait photography as a structured encounter rather than a method of representation. My process is deliberately minimal, involving a neutral expression, a relaxed posture, and a familiar environment. Yet the resulting image always reflects a mutual exchange. Although I initiate the interaction, it is never unilateral. Often, it reveals a shift in authorship: the subject is also assessing me, and their silent response becomes part of the image.
Collaboration is central to my work, but it is not aimed at highlighting individual uniqueness. Instead, I use the individual as an entry point to examine how social structures, such as gender, race, and class, shape identity. My images often adopt a restrained and repetitive visual language that emphasizes difference through consistency and resists dramatization.
I am particularly interested in the intersection of personal identity and collective experience, where social categories operate and reflect broader systems of power. Each subject becomes a lens through which these forces can be observed and interpreted, revealing how they shape our self-perception and ways of seeing others.
Through static imagery, I explore the performative nature of identity by examining how it is enacted through symbols and behaviors and how it is interpreted within specific social contexts. My work invites viewers to reflect on the ways in which identity is continuously constructed and reshaped by social dynamics.
www.jiaqipan.com
