As a Chinese American whose family has been in the States for generations, AnRong Xu has long been drawn to his own ancestry as it ties in to American history. “I had many questions about our place as an ethnic group in America, and it led to me traveling across the United States in search of what it means to be a Chinese American,” he shares. Shaped by memories of “a childhood of seeing my mother work in a sweatshop, my father bellying up to the wok, and a Chinatown filled with hopes and dreams for my generation,” AnRong Xu sought to depict through his photographs the distinctive experience of Chinese Americans across the States.
作為一位其祖上已有數代人居住在美國的華裔，許安榮對自己的血統深有關注，因為那與美國的歷史密不可分。 “對於我們族群在美國的處境，我有太多想了解的。這促使我穿行美國，以尋找作為美籍華人的意義。”他告訴我們。在他的記憶中，“童年是親眼看著雙親拼死做工，被生活壓得無以喘息，還有對於我們這代人充滿寄希的唐人街”，因此許安榮尋求藉攝影來展示美籍華人在美國的獨特經歷。
Scroll below for a sampling of photographs from AnRong’s project My Americans, and visit his VSCO Journal to see the full post.
Follow AnRong’s work at anrizzy.vsco.co.
以下照片節選自安榮的《My Americans》系列，點擊此處查看完整系列。
通過anrizzy.vsco.co可關注安榮的作品。
For his project, AnRong hopes to “create an idea and a record of an American people,” journeying to Chinatowns across the States and meeting individuals to hear their stories. His project is a combination of portraits, stills of people’s homes or belongings that speak to who they are, and scenes of everyday life in Chinese American communities. “For the most part, I just wander and get lost, and sometimes I come upon my subject, and sometimes I don’t, but the journey in itself is where I find most of my pictures.”
他深入美國各地的中國城，遍訪華裔們，傾聽他們的故事。在這個項目上，安榮希望可以“表現並記錄美籍華裔族群”。這個系列記錄的是華裔們的肖像、住所、代表他們的物品，以及這個社群的日常生活。 “大多數時候，我只是遊走、迷失，有的時候我會碰上我的拍攝對象，有的時候不會，但是正是這個旅程本身讓我完成了多數的拍攝。”
One of the most rewarding elements of the project for AnRong Xu has been the personal interactions he’s shared with fellow Chinese Americans. “For me, the most compelling people and situations are often the quiet ones. I feel often as a society we talk too much and don’t show enough. So when I’m with a subject or in a situation, I love the silence and quiet moments that I can share with the subjects or just with myself. And in all those moments, I find that the human story is the most compelling; so many of the people I photograph had sacrificed so much to be in this country, and now here they are living and surviving.”
對安榮來說，創作這組作品最大的收穫就是他得以和這些受訪華裔們的互動。 “對我來說，最動人的人和狀況往往是非常安靜的。這個社會裡的我們都說的太多做的太少了。所以當我與拍攝對像在一起時，或者身處某個狀況中，我喜歡那些能夠和對方一起，或者只是自己靜默的時刻。往往是那些時刻中，我才發現一個平凡人的故事最為動人；我拍攝的人裡，有很多曾幾乎傾盡所有以生活在這個國家，而放眼此時此刻，他們正在此地生生不息著。”
A self-described romantic, AnRong says that although his style has evolved since he first started photographing in high school, the quality of being a romantic has remained and is today the defining aspect of his work. This reflective quality led him to consider the abstract idea of identity and its practical implications in individuals’ lives. “Through this project, there has been a lot of maturation for myself,” AnRong acknowledges. “Seeing and learning of others’ experiences as Chinese Americans in this country helps bring a bit more of an understanding of what it means to be American for myself. It has also revealed so many different stories of struggle, success, and different journeys that I feel privileged to be able to know and also share via my photographs.”
自恃為浪漫主義者，安榮說，儘管自己的風格自高中開始攝影后已有變化，但是他浪漫主義一面一直延續至今，並成為他現在作品的特質。這個特質引導他開始思索關於個人身份的抽象意識，以及其與現實生活產生的化學反應。 “我也隨著創作這個系列而越來越成熟。”安榮坦承道，“目睹、了解這個國家其他華裔的經歷，讓我更加理解了身為美國人到底意味著什麼。得益於這次創作，我有幸用照片去展示如此多的掙扎、成功，如此多不同的人生旅程。”
Website: anrongxu.com
VSCO Grid: vsco.co/anrizzy
Media Partner: VSCO®
Photographer: AnRong Xu
Images & Text Courtesy of VSCO Grid®
