2013–2025 Tumblr-sourced imagery curated, edited & designed by Nicolas Tian Cai.

Before the internet is fully consumed by algorithmic feeds and AI-generated imagery, this project becomes a more tactile act: archiving, editing, and materialising my Tumblr memory.

It reflects a kind of chronic resistance, a quiet helplessness in the face of the new. Do we really need to produce more images?

In these scattered collections, there is a recurring thread. While editing, I often find myself fixated on a pair of socks, a uniform, a pose. Desire begins to unfold from the screen.

These images shaped my sense of beauty. They influenced my work, even the people I dated. What you see here is real. The stories behind these archived images happened. They remain anonymous, but you don’t question their truth.

Limited print