Eun-Kyung Suh

In this exhibition, Diaspora, I have investigated the experiences of Korean adoptees in the United States. I focused on their transracial adoption experiences to examine the complex identities of race, ethnicity and culture through a diasporic lens. Particularly, being adopted from Asia unveils the transracial adoption paradox; the contradictory experiences of being raised by Caucasian adoptive parents and perceived by family and friends as a Caucasian and later being viewed by society as an Asian. Their involuntary displacement from their birth country creates a disconnection from their birth family and a yearning for lost heritage. As a result, they often confront identity conflicts in their adoptive society by facing stereotypes and feelings of alienation.

In response to this investigation, I have been creating a series of sculptural vessels as a metaphor for personal, family or cultural memory and history. In this series, a vessel is any type of container used to hold items. These sculptural vessels are created out of diaphanous textiles, using a design originally inspired by Bojagi, a traditional Korean art form. Bojagi is the wrapping cloth used to cover, store or carry everything from precious ritual objects to clothing and common household belongings.

Derived from my exploration of personal and familial past, my interests in how Korean immigrants in the U.S. store, modify, and fantasize a collection of memories grew. In my 2011 exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN, I created four domestic interiors partitioned by silk organza walls. Each space represented a significant sequence of Korean life with photographs printed on silk walls. As the viewer progressed through the enclosed space, they experienced the constraints and fluctuations of Korean immigrants’ diasporic life. Objects from the Weisman’s collection of historic Korean furniture relating to these life stages were integrated into the installation.

In this exhibition, I encourage the viewer to listen to recorded memories of Korean adoptees in the video as they articulate thoughts, feelings, opinions and ideas about who they are today having explored the trajectory of their lives and to spend time with the portraits to reflect on their unspoken stories.

Voices of Adoption: Oral Histories from Minnesota’s Korean Adoption Community
2014
digital video, duration 42:30

Credits:
1. "Voices of Adoption: Oral Histories from Minnesota’s Korean Adoption Community" is a project created by Rainbow World and financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

2. This project is made possible in part through a contribution from the Viz Lab and Motion + Media Across Disciplines (MMAD) Lab at the University of Minnesota Duluth. With special thanks to: Lisa Fitzpatrick, Director of Viz & MMAD Lab, Dan Fitzpatrick, Video Technician, and Student Assistant, Jake McIlquham.