Bye Bye Home Sweet Home

© Yuki Furusawa - Image from the Bye Bye Home Sweet Home photography project © Yuki Furusawa - Family photos that had been hung on the wall for 40 years. © Yuki Furusawa - Me wearing my grandmother’s dress, unworn for about 40 years, still covered by its dry cleaner's plastic. View all images ↓
View all images ↓

My grandmother’s 40-year-old home was demolished last April. By photographing her and her belongings, this project preserves the stories and emotions tied to the house and its objects, reflecting on loss, memory, and attachment.

My grandmother’s house, where she had been living for the past 40 years, was demolished last April because of an urban development project.

When my family and I started helping to clear it out, we couldn’t understand why she had kept so many random and unnecessary things—my mother’s baby clothes, unworn for 60 years, or my grandfather’s suits, untouched for three decades since his passing. Cleaning up all these belongings was such a laborious job that we were almost angry at her for holding on to things she no longer needed.

However, at one point, I realized her memories were deeply tied to these objects. When I showed her my mother’s baby clothes to ask if it was okay to throw them away, she began telling a detailed story about when my mother was a baby wearing them, as if it had happened yesterday. For her, these objects were more than things— they were fragments of her memories, tying her to the people and moments she loved. At 91, with her memory deteriorating, even the smallest, seemingly random items were important to her. Losing them felt like losing a part of herself and her connection to her loved ones.

Her 40-year-old house was not just a place to live. It was a place full of memories with her family. Losing it without her choice was unimaginably heartbreaking. For this reason, I decided to photograph her house and the things in it that would soon be thrown away. We cannot keep everything or remember every moment, but at the very least, having photographs of something with sentimental value can remind us of the mundane but meaningful moments and the connections that shape our lives.

© Yuki Furusawa - Image from the Bye Bye Home Sweet Home photography project
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My grandmother, mother, and me standing in front of the house, holding a memorial portrait of my grandfather, who passed away over 30 years ago.

© Yuki Furusawa - Family photos that had been hung on the wall for 40 years.
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Family photos that had been hung on the wall for 40 years.

© Yuki Furusawa - Me wearing my grandmother’s dress, unworn for about 40 years, still covered by its dry cleaner's plastic.
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Me wearing my grandmother’s dress, unworn for about 40 years, still covered by its dry cleaner's plastic.

© Yuki Furusawa - My grandmother’s stockings from her youth, hung on the wall next to her favorite mirror.
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My grandmother’s stockings from her youth, hung on the wall next to her favorite mirror.

© Yuki Furusawa - My grandmother and mother taking a nap while clearing out a lot of old clothes.
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My grandmother and mother taking a nap while clearing out a lot of old clothes.

© Yuki Furusawa - A portrait of my mother wearing her father’s old suit jackets from over 30 years ago.
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A portrait of my mother wearing her father’s old suit jackets from over 30 years ago.

© Yuki Furusawa - My grandmother wearing her favorite outfit from her youth, surrounded by shoes that would soon be thrown away.
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My grandmother wearing her favorite outfit from her youth, surrounded by shoes that would soon be thrown away.

© Yuki Furusawa - Me wearing my grandmother’s favorite outfit from her youth, surrounded by shoes that would soon be thrown away.
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Me wearing my grandmother’s favorite outfit from her youth, surrounded by shoes that would soon be thrown away.

© Yuki Furusawa - My grandmother’s hand adorned with jewelry gifted by her husband.
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My grandmother’s hand adorned with jewelry gifted by her husband.

© Yuki Furusawa - My mother standing in the bathtub, reminiscing about her old memories there, which was about to be demolished.
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My mother standing in the bathtub, reminiscing about her old memories there, which was about to be demolished.

© Yuki Furusawa - The living room, once full of family memories, now looks completely changed because of the demolition.
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The living room, once full of family memories, now looks completely changed because of the demolition.

© Yuki Furusawa - My mother’s vest, which was knitted when she was a teenager, is now unraveling.
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My mother’s vest, which was knitted when she was a teenager, is now unraveling.

© Yuki Furusawa - My grandmother, lying on the floor in her old nightwear, reminiscing about memories tied to the house.
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My grandmother, lying on the floor in her old nightwear, reminiscing about memories tied to the house.

© Yuki Furusawa - Stuffed toys and dolls from my mother’s childhood, placed in a plastic trash bag.
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Stuffed toys and dolls from my mother’s childhood, placed in a plastic trash bag.

© Yuki Furusawa - Image from the Bye Bye Home Sweet Home photography project
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A portrait of my grandmother holding a memorial portrait of her husband in front of a family Buddhist altar with other ancestors’ memorial portraits.

© Yuki Furusawa - A portrait of me wearing my grandmother’s dress and tying my hair with my grandfather’s tie in the house.
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A portrait of me wearing my grandmother’s dress and tying my hair with my grandfather’s tie in the house.

© Yuki Furusawa - My grandmother attempting to clear out her belongings, while reminiscing in her closet room.
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My grandmother attempting to clear out her belongings, while reminiscing in her closet room.

© Yuki Furusawa - Me looking into my grandma’s mirror, wearing her favorite outfit from her youth.
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Me looking into my grandma’s mirror, wearing her favorite outfit from her youth.

© Yuki Furusawa - My mother sitting on the exposed staircase during the demolition.
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My mother sitting on the exposed staircase during the demolition.

© Yuki Furusawa - Kiss marks from my grandmother, my mother, and me on the wall of my grandmother’s room.
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Kiss marks from my grandmother, my mother, and me on the wall of my grandmother’s room.

Bye Bye Home Sweet Home by Yuki Furusawa

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