Category Winner & Overall Best Photo

2024 International Institute Photo Contest

University of Michigan

Sakura Dream, Before Closing

This photo was taken during my fieldwork in Chicago's Chinatown in November 2018—the final night before Mei's nail salon closed. The business was abruptly shuttered due to zoning rules and regulatory restrictions that disproportionately affect immigrant-run businesses. With all furnishings removed—manicure tables, pedicure chairs, curtain partitions, rows of nail polish—the room stood hollow, its painted walls and ceiling exposed in full, unadorned presence.

The absence gave way to a new kind of visibility. The murals, once background, now came forward as the main characters of the space. To mark this moment, I edited the image into black and white, preserving only the sakura tree in its original color.

I had once asked Mei why she painted a sakura tree. She told me she wasn't sure of its specific meaning—only that it struck her as a flower that embodies beauty and hope, something that "feels like spring." In many traditions, the sakura symbolizes the fleeting brilliance of life and the possibility of renewal. Mei's interpretation was intuitive but no less profound—her way of planting resilience into the walls.

On this final night, the tree glowed even brighter, its blossoms clinging to the corner by the door marked "Restroom," where customers once passed without notice. Stripped of its usual traffic and transaction, the room whispered a quiet defiance: even as businesses close, dreams can remain on the walls.

Ethno-Photography Award

2019 Annual Chicago Ethnography Conference