Xidong Luo is a self-taught fine art photographer based in south China. She specializes in mirror fantasy featuring a combination of self portrait and still life, exploring the fleeting beauty of life, the built-in female pain, and the profound connectedness between women and nature. Luo’s creation is deeply rooted in the traditional Chinese philosophy Taoism, which claims that “Heaven and earth coexist with me, and all things and I are one (物我合一)”, implying the interconnections & interdependency between all things in the universe. The inspiration of employing mirrors came from the Chinese idiom “镜花水月”. Literally it means "flowers in the mirror and the moon reflected in the water", which is a metaphor of the UNCERTAINTY, UNATTAINABILITY and NOTHINGNESS of life itself. Visually, it adds more dimensions and emotive weights to the creation in a sense of surrealism. With her studio isolated in a beautiful mountain valley neighboring the beach, most of her “props“ are collected from Mother NATURE, such as broken branches, fallen leaves, seasonal flowers and fruits, stones and shells, etc.,which serve as the primary metaphors in her work. Wistful still lives carry memories and echo life’s fleeting nature. Also, the spirit of nature brings solace and resilience to her soul. As an amateur dancer, Luo takes the advantage by using herself as the medium of expression to accomplish her art projects ever since the COVID-19 lockdown. Yet it's not just about the beauty of a face or a body, it’s more about her profound comprehending and cherishing of life through sorrowfully accepting its fleeting nature. In this “Self-Reflection” process, Luo reconnected to the woman within by observing and re-evaluating her own thoughts, emotions, desires, motivations, and values in a more objective way. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Before starting with photography, Luo worked for IBM for 10 years and traveled well internationally. However, due to a lack of interest in business management, she quit the job and spent 7 years backpacking off-the-beaten-track in the peripheral Himalayas, which is the pacing factor and the inspiration of her path in photography. Fortunately, Luo didn't start with art creation in a younger age, so she had the chance to embrace various life paths from her 20s to 40s. It accounted for a lot in deepening her perception and understanding of the world around her. With high frustration and depression during the COVID-19 Lockdown, feelings and emotions just came in her like a flood. Making art through the lenses is her only relief in those dark days. Without pain, without her art.