From the Artist

Crossingsis part of a larger body of work in terms of its subject matter. Much of my work revolves around two central overlapping concerns—history and identity. This print in particular talks about the creation of a hybrid identity—that of a Korean American. Within the enlarged video scanned close-up of a torso with the arms crossed over the chest are inserted a sequence of fourimages depicting a progression of action. The first in this sequence shows a hand holding some sort of marking object about to make a mark on the chest. This is followed by an image showing the word "HeartLand" written on the chest. Next, the arms of the female are held apart by the other figure. The last insert, which is separated from the other three, is the positive image of the larger overall image but with an under layer of what looks to be a map. This map is a seamless fusion of parts of the US and Korea.

Identity is a complex negotiation of both social and a self-affirmed construction. And as this print's narrative sequencing suggests, the formation of an identity involves an ever-evolving process; it is not a fixed entity.
_{—From Brandywine Workshop and Archives records}

Crossings, my print created at Brandywine, is a picture of my naked torso pivoted slightly to the right with my arms crossing across the chest tightly as if in self embrace. Printed in color and in the negative, the body seemed composed to be electrically charged in a dark blend of purple and gray with pronounced white lines defining the image. There are three rectangular B&W photographic images arranged over the image of my torso leading to the final full color image placed in the central position. Like action film clips, the first two images show the word ‘HEART’ being written while the third image reveals the completed word, ‘HEARTLAND’ as the hands of another holds my hands apart from my chest. Whether my arms are being held from being crossed or after my arms had been crossed can be ambiguous. The fourth and centered image repeats the image of the crossed arm torso with a colored map placed over the image as if projected over the entire image. The map appears to be torn of North America and the peninsula of Korea, creating a new territory that intimates my own intermingling of Korean American subjectivities.
_{—Adapted from interviews conducted by Drexel University students, supervised by Jen Katz-Buonincontro, PhD, 2021–2022}