My Father's Mother

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Worldwide | Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 5 photos

I was 14 when I first met my grandmother, it was also my first time visiting China. Up until that point I had no real relationship or understanding of China. As a child of Chinese immigrants in suburban America I tried my best to assimilate and inquired very little about my parents’ family and past; likewise, my parents were equally quiet on discussing these matters. I lived most of my life denying my heritage, it wasn’t until college that I began to take interest in my family, my past and China.

Two years ago and nearly eight years later I found myself anxiously sitting on a ramshackle bus headed to my grandma’s house. To my surprise, my 90 year-old grandma was an enduring yet soft figure—she still grew, transported and sold vegetables at the market down the road, and quietly giggled after she spoke.

This series was shot during a recent visit to my grandma’s house. Since my last visit her health has deteriorated greatly, having lost her vision and most of her hearing she relies on her two sons to help her eat, bathe, use the restroom, take medications and other basic daily activities. These photos are a visual narrative of her life without vision or sound.

I consider myself highly adventurous, motivated and perpetually curious individual with an unyielding passion to understand cultures and ideas distinct from my own. Last year I moved to China and have since explored the railways, highlands and rural lives of China while working on self-assigned photography projects about China. Photography is a medium that can change the way people think, feel and act—if I receive this scholarship I hope to use photography to give perspective and a voice to those who don’t have the means to.

The opportunity to work alongside with Jason Edwards would mean the world to me.