Ce qui nous guérit, Don Kwan
Minimalist still-life photographs of glass jars containing Chinese herbal medicines set alongside jars filled with modern pharmaceuticals, photographed against a white background. The pairings emphasize contrast and continuity between traditional and contemporary systems of care.
Title: What Heals Us
Artist: Don Kwan
Date: 2023
Medium/Materials: Photography
Dimensions: 66.04 cm x 66.04 cm
Form/Genre: Photograph
Key Terms/Subject/Tags: Diaspora; Intergenerational knowledge; Memory; Care; Healing
Déclaration de l'artiste :
This photographic series examines the tension and dialogue between 20th-century Western
medicine and ancient Chinese herbal practices within the intimate space of caregiving. Created while caring for Don Kwan’s aging parents, the images place traditional remedies, ginseng, dried orange peels, roots, alongside medical alcohol pads, bandages, and other current day pharmaceutical objects. Many of these jars and ancient remedies have occupied his family’s kitchen cabinets since Kwan’s childhood, forming a quiet, ever-present archive of care, belief, and survival.
By juxtaposing these two systems of healing, the work reflects on how knowledge is passed
down, adapted, and sometimes replaced across generations. The series becomes a way to
reckon with cultural inheritance, the emotional labor of caregiving, and the shifts that occur
within diasporic families as they navigate tradition, assimilation, and change over time.
Contexte culturel / Histoire derrière l'œuvre :
Created while caring for Kwan’s aging parents, the work reflects personal experience with caregiving, family health practices, and the intergenerational transmission of self care, knowledge within a diasporic household.
Droits relatifs à cette image :
Cette image numérique est soumise à la licence CC BY-NC 4.0. Vous êtes libre de la partager à des fins non commerciales, à condition d'en mentionner l'auteur.
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Instagram: @donkwanart