A mesmerizing peek into the transformation of identity By Li Yingxue | China Daily | Updated: 2026-06-29 06:25

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202606/29/WS6a419f5da310986e2b462500.html A Peking Opera performer sits before a mirror. Makeup is applied with precision, costumes are adjusted, and an ordinary identity begins to dissolve. Moments later, the actor steps onto the stage and enters a story that first took shape more than four centuries ago. It is this brief interval — between the everyday self and a stage character — that French artist Esther Imard seeks to capture in her paintings.