For So Many Years When I Close My Eyes

This series of photographs and documents represent various aspects of Yu Lai Wai-ling’s daily struggle for answers about her son, Yu Man-hon, a teenager who disappeared at the China-Hong Kong border in 2000.

This series of photographs and documents represent various aspects of Yu Lai Wai-ling’s daily struggle for answers about her son, Yu Man-hon, a teenager who disappeared at the China-Hong Kong border in 2000. Throughout her journey of approaching the 25th anniversary of her son’s disappearance, Yu Lai Wai-ling has faced countless fraudulent ransom demands and anonymous phone calls, with even psychics offering dubious services to locate her son.

Kwok's intimate portrayal of the Yu household, combined with images of Chinese landscapes, serves to deepen the narrative. Alongside documents, and polaroids of unhoused children wandering the streets taken by Yu Lai Wai-ling are pined on a map with their locations matched to carious leads connected to her search in Chinese cities.

The project attempts to focus the story on the mother, exploring the role of photography as a means of evidence in her relentless quest for truth and justice. The interplay of photographs, maps, and archival documents creates a layered narrative that visualizes her enduring spirit. It highlights her introspection against external pressures, illustrating a powerful tug-of-war between hope and despair.

This is an ongoing project that continues the photographic investigation with reverse research of geolocation and letters, Visual elements such as clothing, accessories, background, road signs, etc., and clue tracking. Satellite images and map positioning will be used to pinpoint specific scenes, providing more in-depth visual evidence in the pursuit of photography and understanding of humanity.