During my visual communication student days in 2011, we were tasked to interview and create a photojournal of someone in our family. I chose my father as the subject matter as we did not have a good relationship and I wanted to use it as an opportunity to get to know him better.
I decided to write the headers of the photojournal as writing was one of the main forms of communication between us. My father is partially deaf and has issues speaking and hearing clearly. The best way to avoid miscommunication was to write to each other.
Short Excerpt:
"When I was younger, I used to despise my father a lot.
I was scared to tell my classmates about my father. He cannot speak well, he cannot hear well, he is stingy and does not understand me. I used to talk about how much I envy others, how their fathers are able to fetch them to school every morning, how their fathers buy them toys and fulfil their wants so quickly. I disliked talking to him because it can sometimes take a whole night for me to explain what I needed. I also hated him for calling me “Ah Boy” just because he wanted a son. I would call him “PP” not for “Papa” but for “Penny-Pincher” because of his thrifty ways and nasty attitude whenever I ask for money to buy something I want.Not everything was as rosy as others perceive our family to be."
Click here to view the full photojournal.
A second part of the project done in 2018. Photographed on a black and white film using a Nikon analogue camera.
