„Family Photographic Archives: Memory, Migration, and Social Change“ (Macau, 2025)
Interview (fieldwork for an essay)
15m13s
Cantonese Dialogues with English Subtitles
Participant
AO Pok Chi, HUI Ka Ion, CHEONG Hao I
Interview (fieldwork for an essay)
15m13s
Cantonese Dialogues with English Subtitles
Participant
AO Pok Chi, HUI Ka Ion, CHEONG Hao I
The essay explores the role of family photographs as both personal and collective artifacts that shape emotional memory, family migration narratives, and identity within the context of social change. Beyond their sentimental value, these photographs serve as historical records, reflecting broader cultural shifts and intergenerational connections. I reviewed literature on family photography and its function as an archive, and I designed a mini fieldwork study to support my research for this essay.
I conducted interviews with three friends from Macau, filming their responses as they shared and reflected on their family photographs. These discussions provided insight into how people interpret and assign meaning to their family archives, revealing not only personal histories but also larger social and cultural influences. Each participant’s collection (both in digital and analog forms) encapsulates significant narratives, from documenting trauma and separation to capturing cross-cultural identities and family migration.
Through the conversation with my participants, from Ao’s difficult recollections of his parents' divorce to Hui’s experience of growing up in a bicultural household across borders and Cheong’s exploration of her grandmother’s mixed heritage, each case study highlights the emotional and historical dimensions of family photography by revisiting their family photographic archives.
I conducted interviews with three friends from Macau, filming their responses as they shared and reflected on their family photographs. These discussions provided insight into how people interpret and assign meaning to their family archives, revealing not only personal histories but also larger social and cultural influences. Each participant’s collection (both in digital and analog forms) encapsulates significant narratives, from documenting trauma and separation to capturing cross-cultural identities and family migration.
Through the conversation with my participants, from Ao’s difficult recollections of his parents' divorce to Hui’s experience of growing up in a bicultural household across borders and Cheong’s exploration of her grandmother’s mixed heritage, each case study highlights the emotional and historical dimensions of family photography by revisiting their family photographic archives.