Seed
Seed, 2022. Acrylic, ink, charcoal, and resin encapsulated in heirloom chicken eggs, resting upon mounds of sweet rice, dimensions variable
The seeds that are scattered about the earth share the common goal of regenerating life. They break open hairline fissures into great, yawning gaps to sprout forth generations.
This project speaks on our fragile nature, the fractures that occur within the individual and within the body of the family, and the ways in which our brokenness can be inherited and passed on. In the same hand, Seed is a reminder of the strength that allows us to keep the fragments together, as best we can, in hopes that healing might occur. We collect the shards that have been cast down at our muddied feet and try to build something new with them. This is frailty and strength residing within us at once—a testimony to our persevering nature.
The heirloom eggs are born of free birds. Unlike factory farm eggs that are often uniform, each heirloom egg (also called heritage egg) has its own unique color, shape, and imperfections—freckles, uneven textures, color variations and gradations, calcium clusters—that echo our own flaws, which can be accepted and/or forgiven by a persistent love, should we be so fortunate.
The portraits are of my mother (the little girl with the curls) and her nine siblings, from eldest to youngest, flanked by their parents, and their parents’ parents. Each seed rests on a mound of sweet rice, Việt Nam’s staple commodity.
Seed debuts at SOMArts in San Francisco as part of Grow Our Souls. View the series in the studio. Left: Dyeing Flora by Sheng Lor. Right: Flesh of my flesh