INSTALLATIONS & VISUAL ART


Changes and Disappearances

"changes & disappearances" is about the forgotten 19th c. Chinese railroad and mine workers in Idaho. 400 bars of soap, each stamped with the word "REMEMBER," form a wall. Viewers use the soap to wash towels imprinted with words of memories and official status. Washing eventually erases both the "REMEMBER" and memory words. As the soap bars are removed, a charcoal drawing based on a historical image of a Chinese laborer is revealed. Interactive mixed media installation: soap, water, wash tub, towels, charcoal on wood; glass; historical barn wood; clothesline, clothespins; wicker basket; dimensions variable. Sun Valley Art Center, Ketchum, ID; 2004.

In an outdoor component of the installation, "they went away," bed sheets were painted in a concoction of soy sauce, seaweed and green tea with images of a 19th c Chinese migrant worker and installed at the entry to town on Main Street, Ketchum, ID. Over time the images disappeared, leaving only the words "they" "went" "away". The sheets were produced in a community workshop. Site specific installation; cotton sheets, soy sauce, green tea, seaweed powder, clothes line, clothes pins, wood; dimensions variable.

2004