Inherited Silence

Porcelain, Underglaze, Hand Carved Wood

72” x 219” x 18”

2025

Inherited Silence is a series of four five-foot-tall porcelain vessels, each hand-painted with cobalt blue underglaze, recalling the four generations of my family that I have been alive with. Each vessel serves as a portrait of a generation, featuring the homes they have lived in rendered as landscape imagery. The necks of the vessels are inscribed with the Chinese names of familial relations, while the bases depict maps of the places they once called home. The vessel that represents me is the most densely adorned—my story is the only one to which I have full access. As the generations move backward—my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents—the imagery becomes increasingly sparse. This erosion of visual detail mirrors the fragmentation of memory and narrative caused by the trauma of immigration. So much of their lives remains obscured to me, shaped by silences, loss, and the disconnection that immigration often imposes on lineage and storytelling.