"My Home" is an ongoing series that Louis Chan began in 2011 as way of exploring the Chinese immigrant experience and lifestyle in New York City. He’s primarily interested in the way Chinese people assimilate or resist assimilation to American culture, and how they negotiate these dual Chinese and American identities.

His large-scale photographs capture small, cramped, and crowded NYC apartments filled with decorative items that Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans treasure and display, representing Chinese culture, identity, and psyche in a personal way. "My Home" expresses Chan’s wish to preserve a record of the objects and lives contained in these interior spaces before they become displaced. Although the photographs capture the homes of friends, family, and strangers alike, they reflect Chan’s own personal memories and experiences, acting as an extension of his own relationship with his Chinese American identity.

Reminiscent of Andreas Gursky’s large and detailed anthropological studies of social environments, and inspired by Chan’s interest in the formalism of forensic photography, "My Home" attempts to create accurate reproductions of the spaces at hand, often before the homes can be tidied or organized. As a result, the photographs are sharp and full-frontal, the objects filling up as much of the frame as possible. Chan wants the viewer to feel like they’re inside the space, overwhelmed by the image. 

He ultimately views "My Home" as a contemporary marker for Chinese Americans to reflect back on the hopes, dreams, and sacrifices made for them by older generations in order for their own children to have a chance at a better life.

Accompanying materials

• Press release
• Interview
• Story at CNN Style