Us احنا

Sculpture, 2024

Rug, Fish Tank, Prints

This work is an act of mourning, reflecting both personal and collective loss —particularly the loss of cultural identity. After visiting my family in Dengzhou 邓州, Henan 河南 in 2023 and 2024, I was overwhelmed by a deep sorrow. Growing up, the Hui 回族identity was never explained to me. I was unaware of our histories, traditions and spiritual practices. The fading of our cultural and spiritual practices, exacerbated by rising nationalist sentiments is not the only trouble facing our people. There is also the trauma of poverty. Many of my elderly family members are uneducated workers and their livelihood are depended on agriculture. People starve during drought, my grandfather had to flee from Zhenping 镇平 to Dengzhou 邓州 due to famine, a stark reminder of how intertwined survival and the land are.

In my work, photos of my mother, grandfather and Islamic presence in the streets of Dengzhou are submerged in water. Water is often seen as harmless and nurturing, essential for life. But it also has the capacity to conceal and destroy. Our story is flooded, sealed inside a tank, removed from the flowing river of our culture and faith. I fear that we may never have a future in this land we call home.