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Since the release of her first photobook, “I am Sharol,” artist Sharol has become gradually known by people through her unpretentious “straight selfies”; body is not her weapon, but her way of depicting light and darkness. She chooses inexpensive point-and-shoot camera as her tool, and the lens not only strips and dissects her real life piece by piece, but also has taken her to unexpected places; youth and maturity can be simultaneously found in her, and taking pictures extensively is the perceptive path she has chosen, honestly exploring the often overlooked sensitive thoughts and desires among raw emo- tions. She takes on all people’s gazes with her nude selfies, yet she left readers feeling fully exposed when flipping through pages.

Sharol: “My life stories over the past few years are all in this book. I know I will never live up to the world’s standard of beauty, but what is beauty? It cannot be defined by one person, and there shouldn’t be just one answer. As long as you find a way to communicate with your own body and consciousness, it is beauty. Always be a loving person is my expectation for myself, as well as the love for myself.”

Book design Echo Yang: “Early on in her works, I saw the visible forms, structures, and colors. Later, I saw the beauty beyond the body, just like the structure of the book, naked truth. In this era that puts human nature to the test, there also is such a pure, dim, and weak light glittering; this feels great.”

Sharol (b. 1994) resides in Taipei. She has never received any profes- sional training in art, and has worked in the funeral industry and as a nurse at an acute care animal hospital. Sharol first picked up the camera so she could deal with the lives and deaths she encountered at work. She currently lives with four cats.