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Reinterpreting the Chinese word, 尋 (xún) of 尋找 (xúnzhǎo), which both mean to seek, these embroidered versions of the word use abstracted ancient Chinese calligraphy that is not widely used in the modern day.
To the average person who does not know Chinese, these words are illegible.
One layer deeper: it is far removed also from Simplified Chinese, which is widely used in China, and also difficult for those who read Traditional Chinese, which is used in countries like Taiwan and Hong Kong.
These pieces are remnants of a lost world, shown through embroidery, which is a medium that is slow-moving and often losing itself in the face of modern commodification and digitalization of artistic forms.
(This piece was purchased by Estelita’s Library, and will be on display in the community-oriented social justice library!)
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Created for VENT! at the Georgetown Steamplant in Seattle, in June 2025
ABOUT THE PIECE
“Whitey on the Moon,” named after an epic Gil Scott-Heron song, features embroidery and mixed media on a textile that features Joan Miró’s piece, “A Star Caresses the Breast of a Negress (Painting Poem)” or “(Une Étoile caresse le sein d’une négresse (peinture-poème).”
Miró’s original piece features the French word “négresse,” which in its time may have been complementary but is now considered a slur for Black women. My additions to the piece feature multiple languages and draw inspiration from the United States’ current tense state of race relations and xenophobia, with words coming from a number of sources. Some hateful words are taken directly from the mouths of elected officials, some are thoughts that unfortunately have become commonplace in American society, and which have become commonplace, and still others are my own angry reactions to the existence of such realities.
Alongside the 2D mixed media and embroidery piece is an interactive component, featuring a stand-up boxing bag (Google “Century Versys VS.1” to see what it looks like). The hope is an invite that visitors will take a moment to reflect on a quote within my piece – or another one in the exhibition if they must – then feel their anger related to it, and “VENT” it out onto the boxing bag. 🙂
Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Subtitles, and English Translator for an ongoing Spanish-language podcast series about embroidery, based out of Oaxaca, Mexico, in collaboration with Milagros Textiles Creative Cafe, Dea Mayan, Xitlalic López, and Ing. Erick Martínez Antonio.
All episodes can be seen online via YouTube!
Limited addition embroidered coral snake add-on for a previously-damaged piece by Oaxaca-based fashion designer, Meet Me Behind the Mall. Coral snakes are native to Mexico and South America and are highly venomous.
Created for a residency at the Museum of Human Achievement in Austin, Texas, on July 2016
ABOUT THE PIECE
“shìshí shì shíshì” is the sonic romanization of the Chinese sentence, “事實是實事”, which loosely translates to, “Reality is a true fact.” The words “fact” and “reality” fall closely in line with one another sonically, but are mostly distinguishable to those who already know the language.