text by Hung Su-Chen
Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center’s
13th Annual United States of Asian America Festival
– (Re-)Claim
Location: SOMArts Main Gallery
934 Brannan Street, San Francisco
My family and two dear friends provided all the materials I have used for these two installations – Sky Line and My Friends.
Sky Line
–Installation, 2010
For years my family sent me art materials from Taiwan whenever I needed them. I still have a lot of red sewing thread left, sent by them, which I have used very often in my art installations. Although my parents and my brother have passed away, I am trying to reconnect with them through the installation, “Sky Line”, by using the red sewing thread sent by them. “Sky Line” is also specifically suited to the high ceiling of the SOMArts Main Gallery.
Sitting on the floor of the gallery are nineteen glass vases and jars of various shapes. Inside each stands a spool of red sewing thread. When the viewer gets closer, she/he sees a fine red thread coming out from each spool, all braided together in one red strand that reaches to the 50-foot-high ceiling.
My Friends
–Installation, 2010
My friends, Yee-Ping and her husband, Wei, have been very supportive of my art over the years. In acknowledgement of their support, I have recycled hundreds of commonplace objects (all of which were donated by them for my past installation shown in Los Angeles in 2004) into the background fill of their silhouettes cast against the wall. Viewers examine the objects and interpret them to form a rough idea of the two subjects' personal lives (interests, hobbies...)
The two independent installations are tied together thematically as well as through the use of red sewing thread as an integral element.
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