COMMUNITY AND CONFLICT:
The community I have decided to research on is the Immigrant community. I will be integrating the most significant issue that has been evolving for immigrants today that is Xenophobia. It has been a subject with huge speculation and It’s an issue with an overflowing amount of attention in the media, socially and politically.
INTERVENTION:
As I outline my intervention, my idea is to explore the controversy of immigration visually and interactively. I plan to execute this concept through an installation that will force my audience to interact with. This installation will consist of a landscape of three rooms where a number of recordings will be integrated in to signify a certain specific ethnic group that continues to reside in America today. These individuals will be displayed as a social construct, discussing the issues that have surfaced over immigration and a combination of anecdotes and point of views that will be incorporated. These recordings will also consist of media news outlets discussing this topic and talk shows to convey the controversy that immigrants are being exposed to and victimized of.
Visually the rooms will represent a refuge for particular people to express their emotions privately with people who understand them, where they feel they are not oppressed, nor unable to speak without being confronted aggressively by a person who refuses to share the same attitude as them. This installation will inhabit a shield that will be a representation of ignorance in society, people who are uninformed of the issues that are accumulating within immigration conflicts and the point of views of groups they are uneducated of. In addition it will convey the communities isolation within society as outsiders.
LOCATION: (ELLIS ISLAND OR BATTERY PARK)
My interactive installation will be displayed at a location in Ellis Island. Ellis Island inhabits a broad history in immigration. It is the most predominant region in New York in relation to migration. Dating back to the late 1800s a station was installed in the area and was soon an intensely occupied land by many ethnic diverse groups. As the region established for immigrant inspection, millions of immigrants crossed through this path in hopes of pursuing the American Dream. The station was established as one of America’s first federal immigration station and Ellis Island today is renowned for its cooperation in assisting immigrants who sought for a reliable standard of living in America.
Since the reconstruction and restoration of this facility and the shifts that have impacted and scarred this country, these groups have been marginalized and victimized for the color of their skin. Through research I have translated an analytic data on Xenophobia, I have found that the origin of individuals is more often discriminated than their religious beliefs and sexual orientation, this has been derived from hate crimes consistently reported in America. Xenophobia is a stigma that has been triggered by differences in political and moral values between the origins of settlers, and natives. Immigrants and their children are pressured into abandoning their culture and traditions and only adapt to the language and traditions of America. This is an issue that we must continue to attempt in resolving. After sixty years of service to immigrants, soon after a significant decline surfaced due to the Immigration Act that was passed by the government in 1924, this caused many difficulties for immigrants and hindered their chances of settling in America. Once this Act came into effect, the facility began detaining immigrants in their attempt to cross the border entry.
MEDIA AND MATERIALS:
- Wood – main construct
- Recorder – recordings as an interactive component
- Spray Paint – (red, white, blue)
- Gouache – color element
- Plexiglass – Glass case
- Mirror -A reflection of ourselves in these circumstances ? (maybe)
THREE REFERENCES:
- A cultural movement that has taken place in this community is a protest against Xenophobia by Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, to spread awareness of anti immigrant sentiment. Installations were constructed by Fences which is an organization that created several networks of installations around Manhattan.
- British artist Sue Coe has utilized several art forms to convey prominent social issues in current events, her works have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, one of Coe’s most recent installation is called Graphic Resistance which illustrates issues in America, politically, economically and socially though several mediums.
