Duoduo is the name of photographer Yihui’s daughter — and also the title of a long-term, intimate photographic project. Spanning the entirety of Duoduo’s childhood, this body of work traces the tender, complex journey of a mother watching her daughter grow from a baby nestled in her arms into a young girl on the cusp of adolescence.
But these images are more than mere documentation. As both mother and photographer, Yihui inhabits a space where roles blur — she is not only the observer behind the lens, but a constant participant in the life unfolding before it. In one image, Duoduo is caught mid-dive; moments after pressing the shutter, Yihui herself dives in. They live together, feel together, move through the world in emotional tandem.
In creating this work, Yihui was never concerned with constructing perfect images or capturing precise details. Instead, she sought to preserve mood — to hold onto the texture of moments, the emotional undercurrents of a shared life. Each photograph carries the imprint of their bond, evolving as Duoduo does.
“As she grows,” Yihui reflects, “I am constantly balancing who I am — both mother and photographer — in relation to her. Our relationship is fluid. These images, too, carry that same fluidity.”
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