Flowers in the Mirror – A Reader gathers twenty years of Ruben Lundgren’s life and observations in China. Lundgren first travelled there in 2005 as a photography student and settled for the next twenty years. The book draws on that long residence rather than a single reportorial assignment. Its starting point is his enduring fascination with photography and the tension between image and reality, an interest that has evolved into an existential inquiry.

In this inquiry, Lundgren explores his queer identity, his position as both an outsider and insider in China, and his long-standing fascination with facades. The book presents a kaleidoscopic overview of his work, bringing together new projects, earlier series, found footage, and photographs from his personal archive. Through the layering of images, unexpected connections and combinations emerge.

The title refers to the Chinese proverb “As the moon in the water and flowers in a mirror,” a metaphor describing something that seems clear but ultimately remains elusive. Together with Lundgren’s working method, the title underscores a central question of this publication: What is the relationship between photography and reality, and how do we record a culture that remains partially intangible?

Photography is credited to Ruben Lundgren and WassinkLundgren. The volume also carries text by Iris Sikking, He Yining, Garrie van Pinxteren, and Ruben Lundgren himself, with design by Rob van Hoesel. At a time when Dutch perceptions of China are often lost in a gap of incomprehension, Lundgren offers a nuanced and human perspective. His work reveals a China that is intimate, multifaceted, and less stereotypical than prevailing narratives suggest. Flowers in the Mirror thus offers a compelling reflection on both China and the nature of photography itself.

This 288-page softcover measures 230 × 320 mm.