Places of Us
East Change · Every person is a work of art

Every person
is a work of art.

A place you love. A moment you want to remember. Your way of seeing makes it yours. Bring a photograph from your life and create an image with East Change’s art.

Make a wallpaper for your phone or computer, or send your image to someone who shares the memory. Taking part and downloading are free.

  1. Choose a photo
  2. Create your image
  3. Download & share
How the invitation began

“Show us your work.”
“I am the work.”

At an entrance interview for a master’s programme in ink painting in Taiwan, East Change was asked to show his work. In his catalogue, he recalls putting the portfolio aside, walking towards the examiners and saying that he himself was the work. The catalogue biography records that he was asked to leave the examination room.

Artist’s account · Carefree Excursion catalogue, PDF pp. 21 and 86 ↗

The idea remained: every person is a work of art. You do not have to call yourself an artist to have a life worth seeing. Your memories, your choices and the places you love carry something no one else can bring.

Places of Us turns that belief into an invitation. Bring a photograph from your life. Let it meet East Change’s art. Keep the image, share the story, and invite someone else to see the beauty in their own life. If you believe in this idea, help it reach more people.

Carefree wandering · A way of being

How shall we live?
What can we see anew?

More than two thousand years ago, the Zhuangzi’s “Carefree Wandering” used the story of a seemingly useless tree to question familiar measures of usefulness. In the Republic, Plato explored justice in the life of the individual and the community. These different traditions open questions about what matters in a human life.

East Change brings his own response to this conversation: every person is a work of art. In an age shaped by AI, a conversation, a walk and a shared memory still matter. Places of Us invites you to start with your own experience, see it through art, and share it with someone else.

Further reading: Zhuangzi · Carefree Wandering ↗ · Plato · Republic ↗

Carefree Excursion catalogue cover
East Change · Carefree Excursion

Enter the world
of Carefree Excursion.

Explore the artworks and Chinese and English texts in the original catalogue. This version automatically pairs your photograph with an artwork selected from the series.

Free participation · From anywhere

A little chance.
A new way of seeing.

Choose a photograph of a place that matters to you. We pair it with an artwork based on colour, with an element of chance. Try another version if you wish, then download your favourite.

Try it now: your image is composed on this device. Your photo stays in this browser tab and is not sent to a server. AI generation is not available yet.

Use a photograph you can share, with permission from anyone pictured. Download for personal wallpapers or share your image with friends, keeping the East Change / Places of Us credit. Commercial use needs a separate agreement.

Download your image before closing or reloading this page. If your device cannot share files directly, attach the PNG to a message with the invitation. Your image is not published to a public gallery.

East Change
East Change · Portrait from the Heavenly Bamboo catalogue
Meet the artist

East Change

East Change (Guo Yicheng) is an artist with a doctorate in aesthetics from Peking University. He is a Distinguished Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

East Change explores how artistic ideas become part of everyday life. His painting, sculpture and participatory installations invite people to look, enter and take part. Ideas of freedom, change and our relationship with our surroundings unfold through images, spaces and encounters.

“Every person is a work of art.”

This idea places lived experience at the heart of art. Each person brings memories, attention and their own presence; the encounter becomes part of the work.

Explore East Change’s art and life →
A gift to the idea

Help more people see
the art in their lives.

If this idea speaks to you, a voluntary gift of USD 9.90 can support the continued development of this free participatory project. The aim is to help more people see value in their own stories and share them through art. Your contribution supports the idea; it does not buy an image. Participation, downloads and image quality are the same for everyone.

Suggested voluntary contribution: USD 9.90. Payment is not connected yet. Participation and downloads remain free.

Take part for free →
People who help the idea grow

A name.
A life. A work.

Once contributions and the public gallery are available, supporters may choose to share a display name and their co-created image. Visitors will be able to click the name to view the image. Sharing will be optional; supporters may also remain anonymous.

No verified supporter entries are displayed yet. The public gallery and payment verification are not connected.

Try a name-and-image preview (this tab only)

Local preview only · not a donation or a public entry

Your locally created image