RESEARCH: Mother 呀 奶

RESEARCH: Maternal legacy, Chinese diaspora, and transgenerational memory 

My current research explores maternal landscapes, such as social, political, and economic environments, through a post-documentary framework, blending archival inquiry, vernacular photography, and traditional knowledge systems with journalism, oral histories, and site-specific research. 

Silence often masks the complex experiences of immigrants, including those fleeing violence. It wasn't until recently that I learned my mother's history was part of that narrative. In 1945, her family escaped Japanese-occupied Guangdong, China, to British-occupied Hong Kong as refugees just before the Chinese Communist Revolution. 

"Mother / Nai 呀奶" explores maternal legacy, Chinese diaspora, and transgenerational memory in my family history. It uses archival and contemporary photography to highlight marginalized narratives of women's stories.  

My inquiry into the Chinese diaspora began with my mother's found photographs; from identification headshots to snapshots of my biracial childhood in the US. These visual records serve as portals into our family's diasporic experiences and constructs of maternal identity. Examining these pictures became a way to understand personal identity, discern narratives within the photographs, and discover how photography shapes individual and collective memory.