Family Stuff

Qingjun Huang’s Family Stuff series, spanning two decades, offers a compelling visual record of contemporary Chinese and American life. To date, it comprises 160 works. His process involves meticulously arranging a family’s possessions alongside its members in an outdoor setting, with their home serving as a powerful backdrop.

These staged photographs, many taken during a period of rapid economic development and globalization in China, document the profound shifts in people’s lifestyles, urban expansion, and environmental changes.

Robert Frank wrote in 2012: “Your work is an open window to look at China.” The photos composed in the United States reflect the internal structure and diversity of contemporary American society.

Huang also created branch series featuring a specific theme, including “Online Shopping Family Stuff” in 2015, “Stuff of Live Streamers” in 2021, “Homeless People’s Family Stuff” in 2016, and “China Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor’s Belongings” in 2021.

Ultimately, all of Huang’s images explore the complex relationship between material possessions and the emotional lives of his subjects and give us a whole picture of humanity.