“Thinking of You” was created for Think!Chinatown’s 2023 Lantern Residency to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The lantern brings together my meditations on home and belonging that occurred throughout the Covid pandemic, and how the threads that bind a group together, such as language, may change over distance and time.
Throughout the lantern, are depicted Pacific Swifts, birds that migrate between China, Southeast Asia, and Australia. I observed these birds during a recent trip to Hong Kong, a city where I spent many formative years. These swifts represent how home is a place that is constantly in flux. Migration is also a universal aspect of life, across time and species, as birds or humans relocate, flee, or are displaced.
The other panels on the lantern hold the 'Lost Words'. These improvisational and gestural glyphs represent the language that can only come with sharing physical space with each other. This is the language of a comforting hand on the arm, of slowing down to match the pace of one’s walking companion, and of sharing a meal around a table and its many rituals. These are the lost words that don't make it through the weekly calls and video chats but can bridge generation gaps and language barriers.