Publisher
Category
Information
- Hardcover
- 384 pages (200 big pages)
- 135 x 187 mm
- First edition of 600 copies
- ISBN 9786269887552
- Traditional Chinese, English
- May 2026
"What will be, will be" is artist Annie Hsiao-Ching Wang's second photography book, following the international acclaim for her previous work, "Reframing Motherhood."
She meticulously selected and reassembled hundreds of thousands of family photographs spanning more than fifty years, together with her own digital archives, to create a nearly 400-page autobiographical visual narrative. The book offers an honest and intimate account of life, delicately portraying a woman's emotions, reflections, questions, and resistance in everyday life—from growth and maturity to confronting the realities of aging.
The classic 1956 song "Que Sera, Sera" accompanied her through periods of confusion and uncertainty. While the lyric "Whatever will be, will be" appears to encourage acceptance of fate, it also raises a deeper question: Is fate truly predetermined?
Growing up within a patriarchal cultural context, Wang became aware at an early age of the invisible constraints placed upon women in both family and society. This awareness has continually inspired her artistic practice, prompting her to ask: Can women exist only by conforming to predetermined roles?
As she entered middle age, feeling the passage of time in her own body while watching her parents and relatives grow older, she returned to images spanning half a century—from black-and-white photographs to digital files, from personal family records to fragments of collective history.
Through acts of deconstruction and reconstruction, this book departs from a singular, linear narrative of time. Its distinctive sequencing unfolds like layers of memory and emotion long hidden beneath the surface, weaving together a profound dialogue on women's growth, family memory, artistic creation, and self-awakening.
More than a family photography book, "What will be, will be" is a thoughtful exploration of women's lived experiences, time, memory, and self-understanding. It speaks to the individual while reflecting the spirit of its time.
Publisher
Category
Information
- Hardcover
- 384 pages (200 big pages)
- 135 x 187 mm
- First edition of 600 copies
- ISBN 9786269887552
- Traditional Chinese, English
- May 2026

