2017 | In Betweenness
In Betweenness
2017
11 (W) * 14 (L) * 13 (H) inches
Concrete, Acetate paper, Plexiglas, and Plastic Mirror
Statement:
Migration of peoples and cultures across borders is accelerating as one of the most noticeable effects of globalization. Clashes of cultural identities and economic interests challenge the idea of nationalism. The disputes toward the imagination of the relationship between people and states exacerbate the conflict within several developed countries including the United States. Ilhan Omar, the first Somalian born US state representative, said ”We say this is a land of immigrants. Those of us who are new immigrants, and those of us who came from generations of immigrants, have to realize that there are not that much different from one another. This country gave us hope; this country allowed us to develop our own identities, and to create our own home."
As an Asian diaspora, the conflicts and struggles caused by living in between Eastern and Western cultures raised some fundamental questions: What factors could I identify my belongingness? How do I negotiate my identity through practicing art in America? What are the conflicts during the reformation of my new identity? How does the new culture merge with the traditional one? Although it may only show a simple surface outside most of the time there are complex and interdependent interactions inside. Using my experience as a starting point, I am exploring and untangling the grace and struggles of different influences have been put upon on Asian immigrants like me.
Read More2017
11 (W) * 14 (L) * 13 (H) inches
Concrete, Acetate paper, Plexiglas, and Plastic Mirror
Statement:
Migration of peoples and cultures across borders is accelerating as one of the most noticeable effects of globalization. Clashes of cultural identities and economic interests challenge the idea of nationalism. The disputes toward the imagination of the relationship between people and states exacerbate the conflict within several developed countries including the United States. Ilhan Omar, the first Somalian born US state representative, said ”We say this is a land of immigrants. Those of us who are new immigrants, and those of us who came from generations of immigrants, have to realize that there are not that much different from one another. This country gave us hope; this country allowed us to develop our own identities, and to create our own home."
As an Asian diaspora, the conflicts and struggles caused by living in between Eastern and Western cultures raised some fundamental questions: What factors could I identify my belongingness? How do I negotiate my identity through practicing art in America? What are the conflicts during the reformation of my new identity? How does the new culture merge with the traditional one? Although it may only show a simple surface outside most of the time there are complex and interdependent interactions inside. Using my experience as a starting point, I am exploring and untangling the grace and struggles of different influences have been put upon on Asian immigrants like me.