Gomma Photography Grant 2025
Diamonds in Rust
Photographer
Huang Yu
Diamonds in Rust
15 Feb, 2026
« I am an observer living and working in a Chinese city: within the daily rhythms of urban life, I notice corners and individuals often overlooked in the relentless process of urbanization. Beneath the city’s seemingly inclusive and leisurely atmosphere exist resilient and compelling lives: overlooked souls.Through my lens, I document striking and sometimes unsettling moments: attempts to make human connections tangible while revealing the harsh realities of urban survival and the emotions that remain unspoken. This observation exposes the city’s complexity: prosperity and openness intertwined with neglect and fragility. It renders the relationship between people and the city as layered, real, and multifaceted. »
About the photographer
Huang Yu
« I am a driver.I used to drive a small cargo truck for deliveries; now I rent a car and drive for Uber.Between the roads and the pauses in between, I photograph, I draw, I drive. Together, they form the rhythm of my life—my way of observing the world. This is how I inhabit my days—perhaps the only way I can, for now.I come from a small town in northern Sichuan. I now live temporarily in a friend’s apartment in Chengdu. On average, I spend fifteen hours a day inside my car. The sounds of data and digital systems remind me that I am just one of countless individuals—named, tracked, and quantified by algorithms.I have never been good at explaining images with words. An image is simply an image—rough or smooth, silent. Even when it pierces like a needle, it remains fragile before reality.I do not know whether these images still carry meaning. In an era saturated with pictures, perhaps reality can only be perceived from a certain distance, from a certain height.And yet, I still believe in encounter.As long as I keep moving, keep photographing,reality will answer. »
