It Was Your Family juxtaposes fruit native to South Vietnam with appropriated imagery from the Vietnam War to examine the Western gaze and the consumption of images of conflict. For audiences in the Western world, these faceless depictions of war can become as unfamiliar and exotic as foreign fruit—visually compelling yet emotionally distant. By stripping away the identities of the individuals depicted, the work reflects on how the humanity of those affected by war is obscured through distance, representation, and repeated exposure. The colorful fruit serves as a substitute for the missing information within each photograph, filling gaps in the historical narrative while contrasting with the starkness of the black-and-white imagery. Through this interplay of color, absence, and documentation, the work questions how we look at images of suffering, whose stories remain unseen, and how easily the lives of others become objects of distant observation rather than experiences we recognize as human and intimately connected to our own.

It was your family (Re Education camp released father with Roseapple)

It was your family (Widow of executed VC with Guava)

It was your family (Napalm survivors with Canistel)

It was your family (Crying widow on beach with Mangosteen)

It was your family (Squatting VC soldier with Durian)

It was your family (Captured kneeling VC soldier with Dragon fruit)

It was your family (Mother in refugee camp with Soursop)