My relationship with my dad had grown distant since I returned from a year-long study in Paris and leaving the banking industry to pursue photography. Recognising that I had failed to meet his expectations and feeling unseen for the path I had chosen to take, it often made me long to return to the place where I could be my most authentic self.
Everything upended itself when my dad suffered 2 strokes within a year. It became obvious to me that he needed me to be physically present to care for him. This obligation gradually shifted as I witnessed his determination to recover through treatment and physiotherapy.
Your Favourite Disappointment | 真的是白疼你了 stemmed out of these experiences, exploring the tension between expectations from others and selfhood, and the question if what we truly want is actually within our reach.
As he regained strength, I began staging childhood memories with him using a Polaroid camera—an attempt to explore the paradox of crafting controlled images through a medium defined by unpredictability. While retracing our bond through text messages exchanged during my time in Paris, I uncovered how love and expectation often coexist uneasily within the fabric of a family. The process became a reminder that, much like life itself, control and surrender are always intertwined.
