Title of Work
Graduation Date
2022
Preview
Date of Exhibition
4-9-2022
Title of Exhibition
Prograde & Retrograde
Artist Statement
Within my conceptual framework, I investigate
my cultural identity and familial background by
connecting with my family’s culture, religion, history,
and language. Through my installation piece, I recreate
an environment that possesses traces of my family’s
past to demonstrate how Vietnamese culture and
values are transferred, maintained, and practiced in
contemporary U.S.
Type of Work
Mix Media
Short Description
Through found objects and familial artifacts, my
current work focuses on constructing a family
dining room to signify how family meals establish
cultural traditions that can extend from generation to
generation. Family dinners are key to building culture
because each member can connect, communicate,
and share their unique backgrounds. I better
understood fragments of my family’s experiences
in Vietnam as well as their difficulties adapting to
America thanks to their stories. To construct my
dining space, I transferred personal artifacts from my
home to the new installation space. Then, I replicated
my mother’s cooking through appropriating found
objects. Using text, the “noodles” and “ice cubes”
became an important conversational narrative that
provided notions of identity, culture, and memory.
Unlike my mother’s method of cooking, preparing
my own “fake” meals provided a unique perspective
of the preparation process and a familiar sense of
childhood nostalgia. By presenting personal recorded
conversations with my family along with historical
photographs I make the audience feel as if though
they are a part of the work, welcoming them into the
space. Because I have not fully experienced Vietnam,
I project the same feeling of cultural diaspora with the
audience by simulating a unique conversation
and dining tradition.
Dimensions
69.5 in x 29.5 in x 35 in
Medium
mixed media installation
Date of Online Publication
2022
Rights
Copyright 2022, Tracy Lam. Reproduced with permission. The artists and/or collaborators who contribute to the Rollins College Student Art Gallery and Archive retain the rights to their own works. In making these collection materials available, Rollins College does not grant permission to reproduce or redistribute them, in part or in full. The College does not own the copyright to any of the materials, cannot grant any requests for permission to reproduce them, and will forward reproduction requests to the artists and/or collaborators.
Keywords
cultural identity, culture, family history, family, installation, Vietnam, Vietnamese culture, meals, family meals, dining, family dinners, cooking, identity, cultural identity, family identity