“In returning to China for the first time since my adoption, these photographs serve as placeholders for a life I might have had; memories of what could have been. In navigating through this world for the first time, locations, peoples, and objects seem to imbue themselves with a secret, unknown significance. Having grown up in the U.S. nearly all my life, these pictures are impressions of a nation that I never knew. Using photography as a personal interface for both recollection and location, this is an attempt to piece together elements of an unconscious memory that have seemingly been lost forever. These images are my way of reconciling with the struggle for identity. Of feeling one way and being perceived as another. Of understanding my roots and planting others. Of discovering who I could have been and who I am today.”
