In the wake of the 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings, Momohara began a portrait project that sought to elevate the immigration narratives of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and families. Noting that her own identity and the identities of many AAPI women are shrouded in the stereotypes and that AAPI women tend to be invisible in Western daily culture and relegated to troupes of “the help” or excluded as “forever foreigners”, Momohara’s Grounded series seeks to reshape the public’s long held perceptions. 

Through portraits and landscapes these stereotypes fall away, and the subjects are solidly planted in American culture. In these sprawling, collaged portraits, AAPI women hold family photographs of their migrant forebearers. These personal journeys range from fleeing the Chinese Cultural Revolution to coming to the US for college. In some cases, the subjects of these expansive portraits are the first individual of the family to have immigrated at the turn of the 20th century, beginning 5 generations of American family narratives. In other cases, parents brought the participant as an infant child. The photograph within the photograph visually represents time and legacy. Landscapes in wallpaper, framed images, or other manifestations are paired with the portraits. The imagery is from U.S. locations important to the women portrayed, creating a connection to place and revealing and making clear their American familial roots.

Artist Talk

Emily Hanako Momohara & Stephanie King | Photography, Asian American Identity, and Family Archives | Grounded Artist Talk