Illusory freedom

About The Entry

This project explores the contradiction between the fleeting sense of freedom smoking provides and the long-term constraints of real life. Each time I smoke, I experience a momentary escape, with the rising smoke carrying my thoughts into an unbound, illusory space, creating an illusion of freedom. However, as the smoke dissipates, the cage of reality closes in again, bringing a sense of repression. This brief release only accentuates the anxiety and pain of daily life—freedom is an illusion, while the cage is the reality. The exhaled smoke, the warmth and pleasure of burning, and the sense of confinement are what I aim to express,revealing the tension between freedom and entrapment.