Jungle Foliage Fragment 2

This installation reimagines a landscape from my maternal family’s life— the Filipino jungle— as a repeated fragment of a fern fronds. The repetition of these plants printed multiple times displays not a true replica of the environment, but a trace of the original. The use of only two images speaks to my own constraints and desires to still forge connections where there are only fragments and limited knowledge. The images themselves are recovered from a digital archive, resized, cropped, and altered to be printed on a risograph. The residue of risograph prints leave stains, smudges, and traces of ink on the hands of those who handle the works. This residue parallels the traces of diasporic memory, considering the subtleties of preservation and loss. The accumulation of the repeated image traces diasporic lingerings of inherited memory, longing, and the seemingly impossibly nostalgia for a homeland one has never known. Moldmaking and creating editions of ceramics have led me to this exploration of printed editions and their potential to facilitate environments through installation strategies.

Although the image exists as a still, the movements caused by the wind or viewers passing by allows for a simulation of a gust moving through the jungle, reminding us of the passage of time and everchanging landscapes; although we may view the work again, due to the shifting sunlight and movements of natural forces, it will never be the same as the last time you viewed it.