The Perpetual Foreigner

Inside the world of Chinese-American photographer An Rong Xu.

Photographer and director An Rong Xu is interested in the “potential of moments.” Born in China and raised in New York, Xu often focuses his work on the Asian American community — one that, he says, has rarely been portrayed as part of an American landscape. Whether it’s an image of an old woman sleeping in her car or of beauty pageant contestants on stage, his work offers an intimate look at its subjects and the spaces that surround them. Xu’s work has appeared in publications such as TIME Magazine, GQ Taiwan, the New York Times and Rolling Stone. His work will also be featured in the next issue of our magazine.

We caught up with Xu to talk about his work and the inspiration behind some of his photos.

You describe yourself as a photographer and director who explores the world with a unique cultural perspective. How would you describe that perspective?

I see the world from how I identify myself, a Chinese American, Male, Artist. These three titles define who I am, my identity is informed by my cultural upbringing, my gender, and my work. Because of how i identify myself, and how my view of the world is informed by my identity, it is my ability to travel through different worlds and see them and photograph them.