/Foreword/ Say Hi If You Are Gazed

I came to London in the late September of 2015 and settled down myself in the centre of London, Victoria. The reason of choosing to live here is that I had been tired of transporting myself in Beijing for over 2 hours everyday and I supposed that London should surely be bigger than Beijing. But it isn't. London is much smaller than Beijing and the old city transportation is also more convenient.

However, I was still so nervous when trying to figure out my way through the maze of tubes during the first six months. The strange scenes on the street, the unfamiliar accents, the pressure of being punctual, they all rushed to me when I was moving and getting lost in the city. So after coming to London, I gradually began to enjoy staying at home and escaping from focusing on Citymapper.

The balcony thus showed itself to me. For many days, after supper, I would stand on the balcony attached to the living room, look at the cloudy sky, calm down in the cold air and breathe in some fresh tail gas. I began to find it fascinating because I could relax and look at the roaring cars and busy walkers and sometimes, having eye contacts with the passengers on the upper floor of the double-decker buses. The balcony provides me with a space, or a state, to observe of London and its people.

I am also aware that I am gazed by the outsiders of my balcony when I gaze at them. Being exposed to the eyes of the public, a small part of my personal family life is shared with the strangers. However, this is one essential part of the interesting interactions around the balcony. It is an subtle area that connects private life with public gaze, an anonymous stage where people unconsciously expect dramas, an unidentified showroom curtained but remained.

Victoria Balcony is thus started to highlight this overlooked space. I would genuinely thank my friends who are willing to intervene the situation of this normal balcony. This project is dedicated to the flowing passengers and travellers in London who have given me the precious short encounters.