Searching for Dust-Covered Images in Ruined Spaces: A Conversation with Li Wei and Liang Chen on the Art of Found Images

Note: On April 25, 2025, I conducted a conversation with the artist duo Li Wei 李维 and Liang Chen 梁晨 on the topic of Found Footage. We discussed their ongoing ruin photography project Dust and Scratches (Figure 1), as well as their reflections on the relationship between spaces undergoing demolition in Wuhan and the abandoned family photos. The conversation also touched on the role of photographs as consumer goods within planned obsolescence in the Chinese context, and the transformation of image technologies from the analogue to the digital era. This article presents selected conversations from that interview.