Lauren Zhou

Model Minority | My maternal grandmother passed away in October of 2021. After that, photography re-entered my life as a source of comfort and a way of processing my loss. I sought to use photography to celebrate my paternal grandparents, who currently work and live in Flushing, Queens. In Model Minority, I explore the American Dream as it relates to Asian Americans in New York. 

None of my grandparents graduated from college, so they’ve never held professional jobs. In Flushing, my grandma earns money by selling her cross-stitch and Zhong Ze (a Chinese sticky rice dish); my grandpa helps with the finances. 

Growing up as a first-generation Chinese American, I felt so much pressure to exceed academically. A lot of people think of Asian Americans as a monolith. They excel academically. We live out the American dream. But that's not necessarily true. Especially for what I've seen in Flushing. 

This series is a celebration of Flushing and all of its service workers, as well as a celebration of my family. The process was closure for me, following the death of my grandma, reaffirming photography as a creative, healing presence in my life. laurenzhou.myportfolio.com