Unsettled Space
Asia Society Texas, Artist on Site, Unsettled Space, 2021.
Photo Credit: © 2020 Nash Baker Photo
Additional installation image of Unsettled Space, 2021. Asia Society Texas, Artist on Site.
Photo Credit: © 2020 Nash Baker Photo
The foundation for Unsettled Space stems from the shared lenses of family members, strangers, and my own. The rhizomatic layout creates walls, ceilings, ground, and passageways, while the shared generational storytelling imbues the work with lived experiences.
At the heart of Unsettled Space are its artworks, akin to palimpsests. Layers reference histories, and each is an intricate narrative echoing the tangled connections of immigration, identity, and memories of home. The blurred ink texts and abstract painted surfaces reveal fragments of stories and memories, revealing what people carry on their journeys, physically and emotionally.
The installation features the ambient sounds of a farmers market, blended with a video walkthrough of my grandmother’s garden—a space brimming with habits and memories from her time working and surviving as a migrant farmer. Unsettled Space symbolizes resilience and the enduring legacy of those who labor and migrate, weaving their stories into the fabric of their new homes.