Deacon Lui holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and is currently pursuing an MA in Documentary Photography and Photojournalism at the London College of Communication. His artistic practice is rooted in capturing the human experience through photography, seeking to illuminate the resilience of those often overlooked by mainstream media. His work embodies a deep commitment to social justice and human rights, and he uses photography as a tool for inspiring empathy, understanding, and change.

Recently, Deacon began to experiment with alternative photography to explore marginality, displacement, and social alienation, capturing the essence of human resilience and resistance.

This project explores the subject of diasporic identities, specifically focusing on asylum seekers from Hong Kong who are awaiting refugee status in the UK. It aims to address concerns about their living conditions while also reflecting on the diverse possibilities of space, time, and objects within photography.

Since mid-2020, China’s implementation of national security law has made it easier to prosecute Hong Kong protesters and limit freedom of speech. Hundreds of activists and lawmakers have been arrested, leading some to seek asylum in the UK. While some activists can apply for BNO visas, those born after 1997 must seek asylum. Most of these asylum seekers are under 20 years old, have limited resources, and receive very little financial support. They spend most of their time in small spaces surrounded by concrete walls, strange paintings, with no choice of food or surroundings.

The project reflects on conventional representations of asylum seekers and explores two new possibilities in making such representations: 
(1) each asylum seeker is given a disposable film camera to document their daily lives; 
(2) a suitcase from Hong Kong has been transformed into a pinhole camera to photograph their valuable personal objects from Hong Kong, and individual portraits
This approach aims to question how understanding of home changes over different stages of displacement, as ‘home’ has now been condensed into a suitcase. 

Deacon uses portraits and objects to create a dialogue about why asylum seekers fled their home and what is valuable to them. The project creates an atmosphere of "emptiness", "distance" and "vagueness" to encourage viewers to discover more about the subjects, to shed light on the plight of asylum seekers from Hong Kong and create a deeper understanding of the human impact of political conflicts. The project hopes to shed light on the challenges that they face, bring difficult subjects to a humanistic level, and create a deeper understanding of the human impact of political conflicts, and contribute to the broader conversation on issues of displacement, identity, and belonging.