Meeting Memories: Through Grandpa’s Lens
A ritual, not a photoshoot: time-traveling through my grandparent's belongings to feel closer to someone I never met.
With his 1932 Zeh Goldi camera in hand, my mother and I dressed in pieces spanning three generations: my grandmother's dresses and purse, my grandfather's tailored suit coats, and my own mother's clothing. We shot at the sister studio of the photo shop where he once took his own portraits, now the only trace of it left in Taipei. For an afternoon, wearing what they once wore, I was as physically close to my grandparents as I will ever get.
Credits
Photographed and developed by Victor Chen (陳沅) // Styled by Emily Kao and her mother
Grandma in custom-made cashmere top in 1960s
Mom wearing Grandma's cashmere top, Emily wearing Mom's custom qipao
Photographed with Grandpa's Zeh Goldi film camera
Grandpa in his suit coat in 1972
Mom and Emily wearing Grandpa's suit coat, waist coat, and scarf
Photographed with Grandpa's Zeh Goldi film camera
Grandma in custom-made black and white micro-checkered fall coat in 1963 (standing next to her mother—my Great Grandmother—and her second younger brother—my Great Granduncle)
Emily wearing grandma's checkered coat, and Moms's red beret. Mom wearing Grandma's custom green matching 2-piece set
Photographed with Grandpa's Zeh Goldi film camera
