In 2022, while staying in my hometown during the pandemic, I witnessed and experienced things in an environment so abstract and far beyond what I had known or could imagine that I found no language to describe and analyze them, such as extremely talented people who once inspired me gradually neglecting their own talents under emotional control. I kept wondering how someone I once trusted had managed to distort people’s perception of themselves and others, especially those who were still very young with a sense of self that had not yet fully developed. However, things started to become clearer as I encountered the concept of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and its psychological manipulation tactics.

Two years later, I decided to visualize that experience into a photography project. Flowers are used to illustrate the experience of psychological manipulation through methods such as control and suppression. Unlike animals, flowers cannot move to escape danger, symbolizing the plight of victims who are trapped and unable to break free. This immobility reflects the passive state of individuals subjected to psychological manipulation, transforming the symbolic aesthetic qualities of flowers into a metaphor for internalized repression. Through this project, I hope to raise others’ awareness of the subtle yet damaging nature of psychological manipulation so others may recognize its signs early and avoid potential harm.