​Photographers in Focus: Wen-You Cai

A self-described outsider from a young age, New York-based Chinese photographer Wen-You Cai observes her identity as a tapestry woven from the threads of different regions and cultures. Born in Tokyo, and raised in New York, the “reluctant artist” found herself shaped by her cross-cultural upbringing, growing up in the art world and gaining an early introduction to photography as daughter of Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang.

Coming face-to-face with mortality following a series of personal losses, Cai travelled to her parents’ hometown of Quanzhou, Fujian in 2015, attending the funerals of four elderly family members in close succession. Returning to the Minnan region, she found purpose in the unconventional role of funeral photographer, capturing the Hokkien traditions and customs she witnessed from an outsider’s perspective.

Building a photographic document of these intimate yet distant events, the images she captured culminated in her 2024 book, Minnan Exit – recording Cai’s experiences with grief, and as a platform for her reflections on life and death. Following her journey to Quanzhou for Photographers in Focus, Wen-You Cai communicates her efforts to honor her ancestors and reconnect with the essence of Minnanity within herself – engaging with fragments of her culture and family history, while reflecting on the paradoxical placelessness that marks her experience. 

 Nowness RSS Leer más