Students were urged to think expansively about the pressing & increasingly interconnected challenges surrounding the current rhetoric on immigration, identity and civil rights. We were assigned to create three narratives based on the topic of choice regarding immigration and implement them into three different mediums that would be exhibitioned.
My project aims to talk about the importance language plays in the lives of people when migrating to a new country. Many immigrants migrate to countries whose national language is different from their country of origin. This can lead immigrants to struggle when trying to adjust to their new environment. Communication is the foundation to understanding people, but that becomes difficult when others cannot communicate in the same way that you do. The rush to learn a new language while still trying to preserve your old identity becomes quite strenuous, and many immigrants face the challenge of having to choose one or the other. However, in a nation like the United States, we are allowed to speak other languages and have traditions from other cultures, while still calling ourselves American. That is what makes America such an interesting place. It is filled with people who love their new nation, while still valuing their old one.
This project aims to use color and type to portray the power of combination. Combining different colors results in new and more colors that can make the world more exciting. Likewise, the combining of different people who speak different languages and have different ways of living can result in a new way of living, one in which people are more tolerant to difference and appreciative of change.
A projection of an excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt’s speech, “Legal Immigrant.” In it he says, “We have room for but one flag, the American flag. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” I chose to translate Roosevelt’s excerpt into other languages as commentary on how the United States is a nation of different people who speak different languages but still call America their home. Immigrants who speak their own language are not a threat to America. Their use stems from their desire to preserve the identity + culture of their country of origin.
The projection is reflected next to a mirror. This piece is inspired by artist Sandra De Berduccy (also known as aruma) and her work called Authority and Reflection. This is accompanied with a sound installation of people reciting Roosevelt’s excerpt in different languages.
Bilingualism has been said to increase intelligence levels because of more connections in the brain. Bilingualism can result in a hybrid language. Google has become such an important aspect in the lives of people worldwide when in search of knowledge. Every language has their own version of saying, “Google it.”
This is in through wheel that viewers can interact with to change the suffix of the word Google to fit their hybrid language of choice. In Spanglish, for example, Google becomes Googlear, in Franglish (French + English), Google becomes Googlisar, and in Banglish (Bangla + English), Google becomes Google kora.
This narrative is expressed in a plexiglass book with vinyl lettering showcasing poetry about how immigrants and first generation immigrants may feel towards preserving their language or forcefully forgetting it. Because the pages are clear, the type is seen to be interacting with other pages as a viewer goes through the book. The resulting closed book has all colored type peaking through, again showcasing the power and beauty of combination.