Handmade book, 2021-2023

“Homeland is the foundation of our lives, deeply rooted in our hearts no matter how far we venture…”

I grew up in a small county. The demands of learning and life forced me to leave this small town as I aged. The developments outside always made me feel unfamiliar and estranged, triggering a yearning for the beautiful memories my hometown once provided. Over the past few years, I documented everything about my hometown, from old houses to rivers and fields, attempting to reclaim everything I once knew.

Collaborating with my brother, I embarked on a journey to reminisce about our hometown from our respective perspectives. We photographed each other and sought scenes, objects, and past experiences etched in memory in this land and space. We compiled these fragments into a book, divided into three parts: my perspective, my brother’s senses, and our shared experiences. As the book is flipped through, the intertwining narratives unfold on paper, telling the tale of how our hometown influences and shapes us.

Through our memories of the hometown, my brother and I aim to evoke the significance of one’s inner connection to their land, people, and memories, finding meaning of hometown to us.