Voyeuristic, Ghostly GIF Portraits of Beijing Subway Ennui

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Subways and trains are fascinating conduits where intimate and public gestures meld. Most people are disengaged from those around them, engrossed in their own internal dialogue. Vacant expressions create invisible walls, and the jostling of the train car adds a hum to the ennui. Chinese filmmaker Kit Chung, who Animal introduced us to, tapped into Beijing’s subway malaise with his series of GIF portraits. Line 2 is one of the Chinese capital’s oldest rail systems. That fact, coupled with Chung’s goal to set his passengers in an infinite, black-and-white loop where “people exist in the train forever,” makes the artist’s Line 2 compellingly creepy. See more of the Chung’s ghostly and voyeuristic GIF narratives in our gallery.