Jingling Wu – RMIT School of Art Graduates

JOURNEY TO ROOTS is a family documentary photographic project that investigates cultural contexts and identities through spaces, objects and people, primarily through personal experiences. Meanwhile, it expresses the intense relationship between photography and memory. Family history is a historical record as well as a cultural medium, reflecting a family’s origin, sense of identity and personal values. It also serves to perpetuate life and help family members establish a sense of belonging and is significant in maintaining and preserving traditional culture. To explore the family footprint, I went to my grandparents’ hometown and the place they lived as children, as well as Melbourne, where my family lived for ten years, to collect and photograph stories and histories. The intention is to appeal to and encourage more members of the younger generations who, like me have migratory experiences, to explore and understand the culture, identity and family stories that belong to them.