Set against the rapid urban transition of Changchun, Jilin—a major industrial hub in Northeast China—this project investigates "interspecies care" through the lived reality of 69-year-old Ying Jie. Operating on the precarious margins of the city, she single-handedly sustains a grassroots stray animal sanctuary financed solely by her modest pension and the arduous labor of collecting recyclables. Caring for nearly sixty dogs while navigating staggering veterinary debts and the brutal sub-zero winters of the northeast, her daily endurance challenges the boundaries of human compassion.
Crucially, her choice to remain embedded within the high-cost urban periphery—rather than relocating to the remote countryside—is a strategic battle for visibility. It is a deliberate methodology to enforce the physical presence of these marginalized lives within a society conditioned to look away. This work archives her ultimate hope: that these animals remain visible within the urban landscape, ensuring their existence stands as an urgent ethical demand even after her departure.
???? The complete photographic series, detailed narrative text, and full visual archive are publicly accessible on the artist's official portfolio website: https://kossychen.cargo.site/stray-dog-guardians (Note: The dimensions specified represent the individual print size. The complete series consists of 11 comprehensive images for a modular visual installation.)
