This multimedia MEDIUM set of stories was jointly authored by Yara Al-Athel, Tiajna Amayo, Juan Carlos Castillo, Nick Cicchitelli, Laura Cross, Catherine Gessner, Dana Ghanem, Emily Marks, Pedro Molina, Devin Van Houten and Frankie Wong (alphabetical order). Editors were Susan Moeller and Daphne Wales.

(MY)GRATION • The Kintsugi Monk

The beautiful Japanese art form of Kintsugi mended the monk. The process symbolizes how I reassembled my cultural identity.

Kintsugi is a Japanese art form that uses powdered gold dust to mend broken statues.

“It’s something I’ve struggled with since moving or since I was a kid”

Follow the trajectory of my object as it migrates from Taipei, Taiwan to California, USA to Bangkok, Thailand and finally Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

The Kintsugi Monk Migrating.

“It reminds me to embrace my fractured cultural identity.”

THE statue of this monk was positioned in front of Shawnie’s house for the majority of her life.

Shawnie was born in the United States after both of her parents moved from Taiwan, and at age six she moved to Thailand where she spent the majority of her life growing up. She currently attends Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts where she studies visual media arts. Shawnie’s monk statue is an important component of her life, as well as her identity.

When she moved from the United States to Thailand, the statue broke during transit. Her grandfather then mended the statue with a special type of golden glue made in Japan that contains gold dust. The statue then became a symbol of Shawnie’s migration. Wherever Shawnie moved, she brought the statue with her; it resembles her love for exploring and experiencing new cultures. The cracks on the statue held together by the authentic glue represent Shawnie’s fragmented cultural identity, her transformations throughout life, and the many more transitions she hopes to make in the future.

To migrate to another story in the series click on one of the object photos below OR click to return to the (MY)GRATION home page.