Remember that this chapter once existed

(Sanctuary is a practice series)
(based on research by Him Mark Lai)
paper sculpture from digital prints of archived “coaching papers”, recycled paper, and paper thread
sculpture: 20″ x 5″ x 4″  // print: 68″ x 47.25″
2018

During the Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinese immigrants arriving to the West Coast were processed through the Angel Island immigration station, where they were detained and faced intrusive interrogations to verify the legitimacy of their connections in the U.S. Male detainees on the island formed a collective group, Zizhihui (Self-governing Association), to advocate for themselves and at times facilitate route messages and “coaching papers” from a network of supporters that would facilitate successful navigation of the obsessively detailed immigration interview process.

This sculpture’s physical form utilizes a modular Chinese paper folding technique repopularized in 1993 by a group of 286 migrant laborers who were detained by U.S. immigration enforcement when they were found being trafficked in the cargo hold of a ship called the “Golden Venture.” While incarcerated and awaiting the results of their asylum hearings, many in the group used the technique to create elaborate sculptures. This piece uses folded prints of archived coaching documents.

For more information see: H. Mark Lai’s “Island of Immortals: Chinese Immigrants and the Angel Island Immigration Station” (1978).

Sanctuary is a Practice is a series of objects that explore the histories of communities who have had to self-organize or create alliances with other groups to build their own sanctuaries, systems of mutual aid, and resilient cultures in the face of injustice and xenophobia. These pieces take the form of imagined talismans that invoke a sense of protection and resistance to adverse forces by combining cultural references and archival materials to tell a story about the practice of collective survival.

The series was commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission – Public Art Program‘s Art on Market Street Kiosk Poster Series (a project co-funded by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency). The artists selected for 2018 were asked to create work exploring the theme of “sanctuary” and San Francisco’s role as a Sanctuary City.

sculpture photograph by Kija Lucas, street installation photos by WT