Perusing through journals of months and years past can bring us right back to feelings of the time, and in some cases summon a new wave of creativity. Both are particularly true for London and Shanghai-based photographer Jiayueyue Li, whose old diaries gave her a window into her rough start in London — fraught with intrusive neighbours, struggles to find accommodation and pursuing a degree outside of her native language — and the solace she found in her room. “Daily life outside was like a war at times, and my room was always a place for healing,” she tells us. “Reading back through my diary, images of other girls in their rooms, in a similar situation, started coming to mind,” she adds.

Jiayueyue’s journey doesn’t stop at introspection or nostalgia. She wants to know how Asian women who have emigrated to London are feeling now; developing from self to friends and eventually strangers. Her very personal style captures these women in a way that doesn’t strive for perfection or immediate clarity to us as viewers. Some images are of near silhouettes and in others, faces are obscured by furniture and keepsakes. But the emotions of the subjects – whether distraught, joyful or jestful – come to the forefront, allowing us to read the room. “Things have changed a lot since I started the project [in 2016], a lot of the girls I documented in the early years have moved out of those rooms. It could be the pandemic, new policies or the rental market”, she says. “When you come to a new city, your decision to stay or leave is deeply personal, but when you zoom out these choices draw a portion of history”.