Most of these snapshots were taken within 24 hours, the day my grandfather had a heart attack. The last photo was after he chose to forego medical treatment and return home to spend his remaining days surrounded by family. As we age, our physical and emotional fortitude wanes, and each medical emergency chips away at our once-sturdy façade. His past glories are now but a distant memory, replaced by a frail body with wrinkles and contortions. Yet, in the midst of this fragile state, he seemed to take on a new lease of life, akin to that of a newborn child, free from the worries and cares.
Xinya Xu, born in Shanghai, China, currently pays the bill as a data engineer in Microsoft. She doesn’t plan to give up her day job and work as a professional photographer, because she believes the feelings and emotions she experienced as an employee will inspire her work. She likes to describe her work as “life photography” for the permanent theme haunting around, about life experience, about the common feelings across context, space and time, language, culture, or history.
