Between Blood, Breath, and Sea
(血脉，不息，守望)

Image transfer on joss paper, fans, found cast iron radiators, found stones, wood floorboard, $3 Chinatown tatami mat, mandarin oranges, ash, cigarettes, candles, incense, lighter, open window, air

All items found in Vancouver, Canada, and Baltimore, USA.
Installed in Baltimore, USA.

Dimensions variable
2022

马定多 Ma Ding Duo
1944.02.05 - 2012.07.21

马定多 Ma Ding Duo passed away from lung cancer. He was an honest man who fixed air conditioning units in Ningbo to make money for his wife, son, and a pack of cigarettes. He only spoke Mandarin. His voice scraped against his throat. The words rumbled in a hum with his work, simply moving through the air. There were tools he never used for the job. There were tools he never had for the job.

Mama’s cry cuts through stone. She was fourth on his list.

He would not understand these words. But in my continued breath, he still carries his hum.

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Diasporic altar for my grandfather. As visitors stepped into the room, the smell of incense and tobacco entered their lungs. The air was allowed to exit through a slightly open window.