Human first | Researcher second

I work at the intersection of education, photography, design, and perceptual inquiry. My documentary practice asks: what remains authentic when systems collapse, and what remains of us when perception fractures?

In 2020, I found myself in Wuhan as a participant in a closed system. The city became a living apparatus, and photographic documentation became a measurement of consciousness under constraint and paranoia.

Design-wise, I apply my self-developed Critical Authenticity Design (CAD) approach, which examines how design shapes identity, memory, relationships, meaning, and imagined futures. CAD understands authenticity as a relational condition and helps navigate meaningful continuity when external coherence is vague.

— Arek