This work was made in reference to the porcelain bracelet worn by a woman who immigrated from Viet Nam to Germany as a refugee in the 1970’s. Due to her new job in Germany she had to break the bracelet, which could not be simply taken off as it had been worn on her arm since she was a child. Her decision to break the bracelet had a symbolic meaning of accepting her new life in Germany. I asked her to send several photos of the bracelet. Much to my surprise, she sent me the pictures one after another and in the end the amount of photographs was so much more than I expected. It seemed to me that her memory of the bracelet was coming back to her and grew even larger. Immensely inspired by her story, I decided to use all the photos she sent me. The installation work consists of the photo of her wearing the bracelet, a piece of embroidery, and the text showing all the dialogues held between us.
A bracelet in the tide (Viet Nam to Germany)
2016
Digital print on paper, embroidery, text
340 x 400 cm (installation size)
Exhibited at
2016 Gezeiten, Transmitter – Raum für Kultur und Sprache, Berlin, Germany
Mizuki Kin