The issues faced by the migrants hit close to home. My goal is to make the general public more aware of the situation. In this series “Migrant Crisis”, I am documenting their journey and expressing their struggle.
My aunt and her family were boat people from Vietnam. They were in a refugee camp in Thailand before immigrating to Canada. My immediate family and I were sponsored to Canada but my parents lived through the Vietnam War; my mom was shot in the hand when fleeing her home while carrying her younger sister in her arms; my dad was drafted for the war but fortunately turned back for having glaucoma. As immigrants to Canada, my parents sacrificed their comfort to give their children the chance at freedom and opportunity.
Pen and pencil on paper
1150 x 650 mm
Jan 2016
(short listed - Derwent Art Prize 2016
http://www.derwent-artprize.com/gallery/exhibition)
The struggle of the migrants’ journey is explored through staggered paper cut out rail strips. Movement and tension are expressed through the linear interplay of the negative and positive spaces. The migrants are uncertain of their future ahead, uncertain where they will end up or when they can find a place to call home. They are trying to put together the pieces of their lives.
Watercolour and pencil on paper
610 x 1000 mm
Sept 2016
SOLD
'Mom, are we home yet? Part 1' was the start of their journey; they were on a train going somewhere. There is a sense of movement, albeit if unknown movement.
In Part II, they are in the midst of the struggle. Are they caught in a forest, behind metal bars or surrounded by barbed fences? The barren trees seem to show winter is approaching. There is a lot of confusion with the subject matters in this work. Which way does the audience view it? - flipped left, right or vertical. Zoom in, change your perspective, put yourself in their shoes...
Pen and pencil on wooden pallet
950 x 650 mm
April 2016
SOLD
Pallet. Transport. Dispersion. Migrant crisis.
A pallet is a flat wooden structure used for industrial transport purposes and not usually looked at in any other way. Once it passes its life usage, it becomes junk.
One person's junk is another person's treasure.
The migrants are trying to rebuild their lives, perhaps transforming someone else's waste land into their new home.
Pen, pencil and acrylic on wooden pallet
950 x 650 mm
July 2016
ON LOAN
Part - definition:
(Noun) a portion or division of a whole that is separate or distinct; piece or fragment.
(Verb) to divide (a thing) into parts; Or to be or become divided into parts; break or cleave.
(Verb phrase) part with, to give up (property, control, etc.); relinquish.
Original prints on paper
A2 size (each)
August 2016
SOLD (1/5)
Part - definition:
(Noun) a portion or division of a whole that is separate or distinct; piece or fragment.
(Verb) to divide (a thing) into parts; Or to be or become divided into parts; break or cleave.
(Verb phrase) part with, to give up (property, control, etc.); relinquish.
Pen, pencil and charcoal on plaster and wooden pallet
950 x 650 mm
May 2016
Pallet. Transport. Re settlement. New beginning. Migrant Crisis.
Upon arrival in their new environment, the migrants are trying to rebuild their lives, picking up the pieces, integrating, learning, living. This is an idealized scenario of how integration can happen.
Pencil and charcoal on paper
A2 size
May 2016
Acrylic on on wooden pallet
950 x 650 mm
Sept 2016
That colours of the rainbow are iconic to the pride flag, but they also represent the colours of the peace flag.
These colours have blanketed themselves over the pallet - a core symbol to the works of the migrant series. We hope in time the migration crisis will settle down and the new immigrants are able to assimilate into their new cultures and vice versa, the locals can fully accept and integrate with the immigrants.
Acrylic on on wooden pallet
950 x 650 mm
Oct 2016
That colours of the rainbow are iconic to the pride flag, but they also represent the colours of the peace flag.
These colours have blanketed themselves over the pallet - a core symbol to the works of the migrant series. We hope in time the migration crisis will settle down and the new immigrants are able to assimilate into their new cultures and vice versa, the locals can fully accept and integrate with the immigrants.
