Project Roots: Where It All Began
Through this project, I aimed to use the relationship between material culture and identity as a framework to generate conversations regarding a broad range of AAPI identities and experiences, amplifying voices of the AAPI community.
Material culture, simply put, the relationship between people and objects, is intrinsic to our ways of life and cultural identities. Despite the inanimate nature of trinkets, this relationship is a two way street. The way in which we interact with physical objects within our spaces and draw upon their origins, uses, sentimental meanings, etc is a reflection of both the tchotchke and ourselves. Sure, some of our physical belongings may have been acquired simply for the sake of accumulation, as often seen within a consumerist society. However, for our possessions with sentimental value or cultural significance, the presence of these objects serves as a reminder or symbol of our identities.
Photograph by Nastya Dulhiier
I was initially inspired by a singular object hanging above the desk in my Oberlin apartment- a tiger-shaped Lunar New Year amulet gifted to me by my 妈妈 (mother) in Manhattan's Chinatown. While its purchase was a spur of the moment decision, plucked from a cart on the sidewalk, the amulet now not only serves its intended purpose of generating good fortune, but additionally grounds me in the Chinese half of my Chinese-Lebanese American identity. Reflecting on the object's eventual purpose ultimately cultivated a curiosity regarding others' stories and relationships with sentimental objects.
