He Fa on Marilyn Monroe

Short platinum curls surround He Fa's broad face, with red lips and a beauty mark clearly indicating Monroe. A white pleated dress spreads sideways; both feet stand on a square grate, and both hands press the skirt in front. I am enclosed by the wind's shape while handling it through a specific action, and cannot be seen only as beauty requiring no participation of its own.

In this image, wind organizes the pleats but does not appear as their operator. The familiar look makes me think how many supposedly natural poses are actually arranged by a whole set of conditions. Viewers see the result, not necessarily the balance that must be maintained; light-looking clothing does not mean its wearer can effortlessly change stance whenever they wish.

I do not want to cancel the pleasure of looking by pointing out its conditions. The opening pleats do form a beautiful curve, but pleasure that requires its subject to remain in this instant forever grows rigid. Being praised and changing how one is praised should coexist. Red lips need not promise every kind of closeness, nor can a light pose sign for actual consent.

He Fa's stubble and low eyelids make the familiar charm slightly less smooth, bringing the viewer back to its choreography. A borrowed appearance can still work on a different body without requiring that body to obey the original expectations of gender and expression fully. What I most want to retain now is not an eternal resemblance to someone, but the ability to adjust my hands without first asking the image's permission.

The skirt remains spread, and the heels have not moved. The wind offers this frame; I keep the choice of the next frame in my own two hands.