Mother Tongue and Foreign Language by Shin-hee Chin
this artist has experienced living half of her life in the United States and half of her life in South Korea so this piece is clearly born out of her personal experience. I especially love the use of a garment, a piece of clothing, something you put onto yourself and show to the world, as the medium for the message. I can only imagine that being at home in more than one culture means choosing who to identify as in any given setting.
Navigating a Broken World by Shea Wilkinson
The level of detail on this map is absolutely astounding. The maps themselves are intricately detailed and she has embroidered tiny red dots to represent people groups and their movements. There is a short video on her website where she talks about the piece. My photo is not the best so you should click over there to see it.
I am going to finish up with a piece that wasn't a part of the Migration exhibit but really caught my eye anyway. These sweet little Birds by Ginny Smith (actually part of a quilted book) are so very playful. I like fabric. I like birds. Why don't I try something like this? I think I have always been such a structured person that I always undertake huge capital-letter P projects when perhaps I should just make something smaller and undefined and more freeing. Something for me to ponder! Please look at the other pieces on Ginny's website – I love them all!
