Jiuer regrets that she won’t see her children grow up. She says to herself: “Stop being sentimental. Be brave and tough.” Liaoning, China.
2024 Photo Contest, Asia, Long-Term Projects

I Am Still With You

Photographer

Wang Naigong

11 December, 2021

Jiuer regrets that she won’t see her children grow up. She says to herself: “Stop being sentimental. Be brave and tough.” Liaoning, China.

This project is a private visual record that explores the concept of family photos. In close collaboration with the family, the photographer tells the story of Jiuer, a young mother of three in northern China who gains more understanding and appreciation for life in her final years after being diagnosed with cancer.

Before her surgery, Jiuer invited the photographer to take some family photos, and later, when her condition deteriorated, asked her to record the time she spent with her children. The photographer used a large-format camera (which can offer exceptional detail in low light, as well as better control of perspective and depth of field) to capture the emotions and relationships within the family. Jiuer offered her own interpretation of each frame.

The project does not aim to address complicated issues of the disease, or its relation to society, but rather to document the emotional and spiritual journey of a young woman as she faces death. “In our daily lives, it is taboo for us to talk about death,” says the photographer.  “We are afraid of death and unwilling to explore it. But the fact that we don’t talk about it doesn’t mean that it won’t happen, nor does it mean that we don’t have it on our minds; death is inevitable.”

Jiuer passed away in 2022, but her presence lives on in her family memories.

 

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Wang Naigong
About the photographer

Wang Naigong is a photographer from China. She is a member of the China Photographers Association and Director of the Liaoning Photographers Association, as well as a Visiting Professor at Bohai University. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including China Photography, China Youth Daily, Popular Ph...

Read the full biography
Technical information
Shutter Speed

1/60

Focal length

210

F-Stop

f/5.6

ISO

400

Camera

Rittreck View 5x7

Jury comment

The jury was moved by this emotional project, which portrays a mother's courageous decision to share her daily life with the photographer, leaving a lasting memory for her family. Through collaboration, it challenges stereotypes and highlights the enduring nature of intimate human connections, offering a rare glimpse into the life of a Chinese family. The intimate, humanizing portraits convey messages of love, pride and closure in facing mortality.