Sanctuary

Multimedia interactive installation. Future Tongue Gallery in Little Tokyo Art Complex, Los Angeles (2017)

As the political dust settles in the wake of the 2016 election, we found ourselves in a deeply divided country. ​Sanctuary ​was created not to reinforce those divisions, but to investigate them. What does a sanctuary look like? Who should be let into these spaces? Can we find sanctuary in our ever-changing culture or should we flock to the temples of our past? 

To approach these concepts Future Tongue took over an old industrial building on that sits on the edge of Little Tokyo and Skid Row. Inspired by the concept of creating a living representation of one's own personal or cultural sanctuary, the open gallery space was subdivided to create five partial enclosures. Then handed over the keys to the artists. Resulting in multiple immersive installations that became the stage for performance, dance, spoken word and live music.

In collaboration with artist Justine Jaime, our installation was inspired by imagery of nature. Having spent my childhood exploring the untamed woods and rivers banks of North Carolina, I look to the natural landscape for my personal sanctuary.  Jaime’s work is inspired by her Mexican American roots and address the landscape change between the northern region of Mexico and the deserts lands of Arizona where her family is from. Having both relocated to Los Angeles, we were considering how California’s natural ecology has been engineered to include species of palm trees and other plants that are not natural to the region. Making a connection to how much of our population here is transplanted from other states and countries.