I got into photography when I was 18. Since then, I have persistently photographed the place where my two sisters and I were born and raised. Photography is a great way to record minor events and everyday life.

Time is stopped within a photograph. But, when I put a few of them side by side, I can see how my sisters have gradually changed. I want to keep track of all of that and preserve these precious photos for the distant future.

I love the word "dear". It can mean something you are fond of or something quaint, amongst other things. That is the kind of feeling I want to interject in my photos.

Everything I photograph is personal. I have noticed the bigger things in life by photographing the tiny changes in the world around me. A photograph can preserve the subtle changes that occur from day to day like the ash in the Buddhist alter I've prayed before countless times or my cat's posture when sharpening her claws.

Though it's highly unlikely that a photo that seems special to me will be special to someone else, I would hope that all of those changes that occurred day after day in my life create a storyline that you can follow. And, then, nothing would thrill me more than if that story would touch you emotionally. No matter how much time goes by, feelings we tend to overlook and important things we tend to forget about come back to us. That, I believe, is the power of photography.

I wrote the foregoing text 3 years ago when I first put these works together. I have kept taking pictures after that, so this exhibition covers about a 10-year span. During that time, my two sisters and I have changed like you wouldn't believe. One sister got pregnant and gave birth. My grandparents got sick. Our beloved pet died. The place where we live hasn't changed, but the way we live today is completely different.

Now, regardless how much time has passed, it's hard to recall the memories that should come back to me when looking at a photo, or the feelings I had at the time I took it. But, even if everything doesn't seem clear to me, any photo that stirs some sort of memory is a good photo. Since I experience so many different things every day, I often find myself cherishing today some nondescript photo I took ages ago. What I thought would play out to the viewers as a new story because of their own experiences surprisingly reads like a new story to me, as well. That's all the reason to preserve what I see. Photographs always seem to bring something back when you look at them.