Jialin Sun
Photography BA (HONS)
London College of Communication UAL
Graduates: 2025
Specialisms: Photography / Sculpture / Fine Art
My location: London, United Kingdom
Jialin Sun
First Name: Jialin
Last Name: Sun
University / College: London College of Communication UAL
Course / Program: Photography BA (HONS)
Graduates: 2025
Specialisms: Photography / Sculpture / Fine Art
My Location: London, United Kingdom
Website: Click To See Website
About
Jialin Sun (b. 2003, China) is an artist based in London and Shandong. His recent works combine Western archival theory with Chinese visual art styles, exploring themes of historical a priori, personal memory, and inheritance. Currently, photography and multimedia installations remain at the core of his practice, and he plans to further explore other broader creative methods through specific visual mediums related to each project.
The Ground of Memory is a multi-disciplinary project incorporating photography, sculpture, collage and text. It explores the notions of historical a priori, inheritance, and shaping. Based on his grandfather's personal experiences during the Great Leap Forward, Jialin Sun uses collected materials, forged texts, archives, and photographic collages to create an intentionally biased and fragmented narrative. By combining real elements with imaginative fiction, this multimedia approach critically examines the reliability and dissemination of inherited stories. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from Michel Foucault’s notion of the “historical a priori” (via Charles Merewether) and Allan Sekula’s critique of photographic discourse, the work reflects on how history is fragmented, conditional, and mediated by power. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic writings further influence the approach to memory as subjective and shaped by trauma. Ultimately, this project encourages viewers to think about and question how the narratives we inherit are conditioned by the political ideology of the time, and circulated in discreet ways that shape us.
Competitions
