Softly spoken, strong willed, and kind— hailing from White Center about 10 minutes out from West Seattle— Khmer American photographer Emily Un always knew that she wanted to tell stories. There are pillars to what makes a photographer’s work so special, and for Un, it is her grandmothers who anchor her inspiration. In her most recent project, a zine titled Her Innocence, Un illuminates the portrait of the two women most influential to her, from her life’s work to her everyday style. Dedicated to her yeys, Maly Mao and Savouen Men, the pages progress as a count of her blessings. The first day of kindergarten, family trips to the Bay Area, and days spent at the temple— the curation captures some of her life’s most formative moments. The release of the zine was in partnership with mam’s books, Seattle’s first Cambodian-owned bookstore focused in AAPI literature.  

“I had to go through so many family photos,” Un says. “And when looking back on everything, from their style, to the way photos were shot, composition, the coloration… I keep realizing how important it is to make work based around my own experiences, and my own culture.”

Before landing on her fortė of photography, Un had dabbled into the many avenues of creative expression, ranging from writing, sports photography, and even an interest in architecture. This journey to finding passion wasn’t so much a rushed ambition but an ongoing work in progress, fluid in both curiosity and the acceptance to try new things. 

“I first wanted to be a writer; I wanted to tell stories as a journalist, which is very hand in hand with photography. I don’t exactly remember when things changed, I just started playing with the camera, and then it clicked that I could tell stories through photos.” 

Having lived in Seattle her whole life, the importance of community has shone both behind the camera and in the earlier moments of her life in working at her grandmother’s store in White Center. When it came time for Un to embark on creative work, her first clients became those same familiar faces of store passersbys and old classmates from elementary school, most of whom she hadn’t seen in over eight years. Thus, the camera became a tool for reconnection, a clear testament to the power of having a strong home base. 

“Building a network in any industry is important, but having that tight knit community of friends… who want you to move forward, who are willing to help you— it helps so much, and It taught me how valuable the community is here.” 

There is the female gaze, and within that, there is the Emily Un gaze. Her work catalogs a collection of warm hues, womanhood, and nostalgia. But beyond the portraits of clean backdrops and vibrant colors are layers of harbored specificity that allow her work to resonate with authenticity. Her source of inspiration is personal, and therefore, irreplicable.

“Searching for a new project means going through magazines, going to the temple, spending time with my grandmothers, or going through family photos,” Un says. “Women of color inspire my work, just capturing a woman as she is is probably my favorite thing to do. To me it’s finding something that has a lot of meaning and really connecting with it.”

Is it her nonchalant Taurus heart diluted by a photographer's discerning eye for style that distinguishes her work? Or is it her girlhood nostalgia tethered to Hannah Montanna that makes her work pop? There are layers to what makes a creative’s work so special, and to Emily, this lies within her strong sense of self. Piece it together in an examination of her selected works below.




Reach Editor-in-Chief Erin Kim at musemediauw@gmail.com.
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