REASONS TO BE
This book is for looking into the dark places; otherwise, we’re limited to what we’ve already seen.
Reasons to Be is about confronting what’s been broken—promises, places, people—and listening to what remains. It is a practice of sifting through wreckage and asking what these fragments still have to offer.
A statue of a woman stands with her cast neck snapped. A school bus sign, once bright, now scorched and barely legible. Superheroes sit trapped behind barred windows, unable to save anything.
These are not just scenes they are evidence. The more I sit with what’s been discarded, the more I find clarity within it. There is truth in what we try to move past.
This project is rooted in slowness, care, and hands-on craft.
All photographs were captured on analog film, hand-processed, and scanned in my own darkroom.
Each book was hand-printed and bound in collaboration with the independent press For the Birds Trapped in Airports.
Binding: Smyth-sewn layflat binding
Cover: Fabric hardcover with image wrap
Paper: Mohawk Superfine White Vellum
Text: Written by the artist
Edition: Limited run of 300
Printed and bound in the USA
Each book was hand-printed and bound in collaboration with the independent press For the Birds Trapped in Airports.
The book is being produced as a limited edition of 300 copies.
The binding process. The books feature an exposed spine.
Binding: Smyth-sewn layflat binding
Cover: Fabric hardcover with image wrap
Paper: Mohawk Superfine White Vellum
Text: Written by the artist
Edition: Limited run of 300
Printed and bound in the USA
Upcoming Events
Book Release
Official release date:
7.11.2026
Solo Exhibition
Dictee Gallery in Oakland, CA
7.03 to 8.02
Featuring 20–30 large-scale framed archival prints from the book.
Opening Reception
7.11 11am-2pm
Poetry reading with local artists,
live DJ, and more.
Creative Workshops
About the Artist
— Aidan Jung
Aidan Jung is a photographer, director, and visual artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their photographic practice centers on analog processes, hand-printing, and long-term observational work rooted in wandering, memory, and lived experience. Their images explore themes of identity, belonging, and the emotional landscape of contemporary America.
Alongside their fine art practice, Aidan has over a decade of experience directing and producing large-scale visual projects across film, photographic, and commercial work. They are currently a director and visual effects artist at the San Francisco–based studio Ntropic, where they lead visually driven, story-focused productions.
