Tendency
Anderson Huynh
My father's parents both passed before I was born. His father, three years prior, and his mother when he was young. They are unaware of my existence, yet I am defined by theirs. The idea of them was the first thing I’d ever collected.
Tendency examines the complex relationship between the physical and mental processes of collection in my upbringing as a first-generation Asian American, using personal narratives and generational keepsakes as a form of conversation. Unfolding into three distinct sections, the work discusses the Asian American diaspora and the construct of the American Dream, utilizing material experiments and typographic interventions to construct a world that highlights and frames narratives of immigration from Vietnam and China to the U.S.
By reshaping traditional forms of typesetting and visual imagery, Tendency tells the story of two sides of my lineage, spanning across twenty years and five countries. Stories are broken up and reinterpreted into the physical forms of wooden frames, exaggerated fabric printing, and a Swiss-bound book. Wooden frames enveloped in concrete use flooring as a material for exploration, connecting the east and west. Stark white fabric prints spanning 24 feet in length recount the beginnings of my parents’ migration. The process of mental collection is made physical.
I hold onto the physical and the intangible. I attempt to grasp onto ideas far past my comprehension. I want to be enveloped into the whole of my life and lineage. I am because of my parents, and they are because of theirs.