SITE-SPECIFIC/INTERACTIVE/VISUALIZATION:
Map Stories
This is an ongoing series dealing with identity, created for specific cultural contexts.
The first six images (click on image at right) are described below:
"Breath"
This piece uses a text that equates the sound of a foreign language with breathing and 'contamination;' living in the same apartment building, sharing a neighborhood with others that are not of the same culture as the reader of the text.
PERHAPS IT'S ABOUT SHARING SPACE WITH SOMEONE DIFFERENT, NOT JUST THEIR LANGUAGE IT'S SOUND, BUT ALSO IT'S TASTE. WORDS ARE BREATH OUT FROM ONE LUNG TO ANOTHER. LANGUAGES, VIRUSES, INFECTIONS, THE SMELL OF STRONG ODORS EMANATING FROM AN APARTMENT DOWN THE HALL.
The text is displayed as a looped animation, while other animations underscore the intimacy of'breathing in the same air:' two bodies/lungs inhale and exhale + and - symbols simultaneously in the opening screen.
The viewer is asked to submit 'yes' or 'no' responses to the question "Should foreign influences be filtered out of one's country," and additionally to respond to "How do you define foreign." These answers are displayed chronologically over the course of the exhibition, and may be scrolled through by viewers. Optionally, pre-printed inkjet prints may also be added to the display with hand-applied + or - stamps that show the collective answers over the course of the exhibition, creating a growing documentation over time.
Blood
This piece includes a text that uses one of the definitions of "blood;" as standing for one's heritage and identity. Visual images such as the animated circulation of blood cells within vessels, and a heart-shaped global map underscore the main text ideas:
"YOU WANT TO HOLD ON TO WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE_(OR YOU MAY DECIDE TO BECOME A Hybrid, mixing blood, languages) what follows is a way to respond to this as a series of questions and to then display all answers together in the piece- to map all viewers{'blood' here is used as a metaphor for two ideas: the circulation of money and ideas in the world; and the other is the migration of people}.
Questions:"Blood as circulation and blood as heritage and tradition are in opposition to each other. Are there benefits in borrowing from other cultures (images, styles, phrases) in constructing your identity? "
Responses are culled in a separate screen and displayed.
Skin
This piece compares entry points in a country with "entry points" of a body (mouth, ears, eyes, etc.) - and presents a text. A general question is asked: "Do you have any personal stories of being either within or outside of a particular culture?" Viewers may respond in three categories.
The piece is simultaneously shown in two versions- one in English and one in Japanese. Japanese and US answers are displayed side-by side in both translations.
Imaginary Country (II)
