—
your wounds, flowing through my roots
your stories, written in my bones
is a heartfelt love offering to my ancestors,
honoring them for the sacrifices they made to ensure survival.
it’s easy to dismiss familial dysfunctions as unambiguous evils
to simply run from, or rid ourselves of.
despite that,
excavating these core conditioned patterns
which course through my blood
has revealed an unbreakable connection to my roots
from which I ground down
to rise up.
forged in the flames of Korean haan,
emerge glimmering remnants
from endured atrocities driven by
the barbaric lens of seeing mere game
where there should have been human faces
during the Japanese occupation of Korea.
from all that my ancestors bore,
I carry within my being:
priceless gifts
of resolute resilience,
capacity for feeling,
a deep inner knowing.
your wounds, your stories was originally a poem,
refined by recitation - sometimes through gritted teeth,
then transmuted into a risograph zine,
then finally performed, recorded, and edited into the video seen here.
throughout this journey,
this work has gradually softened,
unfurled, and opened into love and gratitude
from its violent and heavy origins.
the synchronous/asynchronous qualities of the time based media
were an unplanned reflection of the healing process -
where things come together for a moment,
before falling apart,
before coming back together again…
—
acknowledgements:
the beautiful music, entitled Enceladus, is the courtesy of my dear collaborator, Austin Jackson.
this work would not have conceptually come to birth in the way that it has,
had it not been for Ellen Wong and her work as a facilitator.
I thank Josh Zerangue and Matt Neff for their support with my printmaking endeavors.
Jackie Tileston has played an instrumental role in shaping my creative spiritual practice, here and always.
—