TAG KIS LUB HNUB TAWM

Tag Kis Lub Hnub Tawm, in Hmong translates “Tomorrow The Sun Comes Out.” 



This is a personal project dedicated to my parents. It is a photographic journey that explores their endeavors of gardening; representing the extremely hard work and dedication to “keep life going.” In many Southeast Asian regions (not limited to), gardening was a daily activity because it was a way to work in a circumstance where an economy and/or opportunities do not simply exist. At young ages, children from Thailand and Laos are taught to plant and maintain crops miles away from their home. They often spend several nights there to watch over fields, not allowed to come back home until their job was finished. They would take long walks on bare foot and had little to no clothing. My mother has known gardening for as long as she can remember. It was a major part of making sources of income and food while living in poverty in the vast remotes areas of Laos/Thailand.

“We did not sit around. We had to do our own gardening to make money. We lived an adult life from the moment we could walk.” — Mother 

Tag Kis Lub Hnub Tawm explores the hard work amongst Southeast Asian culture and The Hmong People. Every year, new photographic entries will always be added to this now on-going archive and journey. I decided to dedicate myself to documenting every summer with my parents' rented space for gardening, to preserve the memories and love for their endeavors. Forever.