Born and raised in SF. Based in NYC
My photographic practice revolves around themes of identity, intergenerational history, home, and belonging. Through photography I wish to render beautiful all the things, people, and places that connect me with my heritage, remind me of who I am, and honor my Asian American identity. Like the migration of my ancestors, my identity formation is a process that is unmoored. Photography as a process of catharsis and self discovery is integral to my commitment to photographing Asian and Asian American subjects. My work is dedicated to the people who make me feel at home in my own skin, whose lived experienced reflect my own, and who can understand me and my life without over explanation or justification; it is about the ways in which we wear, display, or celebrate where we came from with pride, whether that be through the pants someone decides to wear, the decoration in their apartment, or their breakfast that morning. Through photography I explore how to challenge monolithic constructs of what it means to be American, to combat the label of the other, and to bring attention to what has been ignored and unseen. As both a generative and healing process, photography allows me to respond to past experiences while reclaiming what has always been mine to claim- a history to be proud of and inspired by.
