COURIER LIFE, JULY 2-8, 2021 29
OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
BY REYNA IWAMOTO
A new collection of art in Sunset
Park shines a light on Asian-American/
Pacifi c Islander artists, and aims
to foster support for the AAPI community
while raising awareness for relevant
causes.
“Home is Inside You,” now on display
at Industry City, features new solo
mural installations by artists Jia Sung
and Jocelyn Tsaih, along with existing
installations by Amrita Marino, and
several other artists.
The Collision Project, Industry City’s
campus-wide arts initiative, plans to
keep the installations up through the
end of the year, while adding new artwork
by AAPI artists along the way.
“The Collision Project is delighted
to work with such a talented group of
artists hailing from the AAPI community
whose diverse body of work
across mediums adds to the cultural
vibrancy of the campus,” said Haoran
Chen, associate, digital and creative at
Industry City.
“In a way, each of these art installations
is telling a unique story about
the artist themselves and I think it’s
important to understand the diversity
within the AAPI community as well,”
Chen told Brooklyn Paper.
Artist Amrita Marino connected
the theme of “Home is Inside You” to
her experience during the coronavirus
pandemic, as well as her experience as
a fi rst-generation American.
During the height of COVID-19 in the
US, Marino said she felt like a “small
cog in the wheel,” and that most things
were out of her control. “The best thing
to do for my well being was to embrace
my own inner life,” Marino said.
Immigrating to the US nearly 20
years ago, Marino compared the necessity
of self-reliance as an immigrant to
that of dealing with the uncertainty
brought on by COVID-19.
“It is common for immigrants to
be the odd man out and there is a tendency
to protect yourself and build a
shelter, a net, or some way to comfort
yourself from the constant feeling of
not fi tting in,” Marino said. “I am my
own comfort. I am my inner home.”
Jocelyn Tsaih, a Taiwan-born,
Shanghai-raised artist currently
based in Oakland, California, said that
her piece, “After the Rain” is about reconnecting
within one’s community
following the long period of isolation
during the pandemic.
“For me because I come from multiple
cultures and my concept of home
is always shifting, a sense of community
is my way of feeling like I have a
home away from home,” Tsaih said. “I
feel that cultivating a community and
being with people you consider your
chosen family — that is a very distinct
feeling of home for me.”
Alongside their artwork, each artist
in the series has selected a non-profi t
organization to support via signage
placed near their respective pieces.
Tsaih chose to support Cut Fruit
Collective, formerly known as Save
Our Chinatowns, an organization she
founded in March 2020 as a response to
the devastating impact COVID-19 had
on Chinatown communities in the Bay
Area. The west-coast based organization
focuses on supporting AAPI artists,
activists, and investing in vulnerable
AAPI communities.
“Cut Fruit Collective is refreshing,
bringing a new voice and platform for
different parts of the AAPI community
and to different organizations,”
Tsaih said.
Marino chose to support Sakhi
NYC, a New York based non-profi t focused
on fi ghting domestic violence
against South Asian women.
Sakhi had a personal resonance to
Marino, as she described the pervasive
culture of violence against women
she experienced growing up in India.
In addition to bringing awareness
Culture
& care
Industry City art
installation shines
a light on AAPI
creators & causes
LARGER THAN LIFE: Jocelyn Tsaih with her piece, “After the Rain.” Industry City
Continued on page 30