Retraced Steps: Inspired by Gordon Parks
Retraced Steps: Inspired by Gordon Parks on display through November 12, 2026. 645 7th Street E., St. Paul, Minnesota. Pictured: Hutou Whistle, 2026
As a photographer, filmmaker, musician, poet and artist, Gordon Parks influenced many people. His photography was wide ranging from documenting the rural south to photographing fashion models for Life and Vogue magazines. His Life Magazine work brought non-black people into a world they would have never seen because of the segregation of black and non-black communities.
Much of Parks’ work focused on social justice, which is what drew me to into his sphere of
influence. My father was Japanese American; my mother is Chinese American. My family
history is a story of injustice, discrimination, prejudice, and lies. And like Park, I’ve wanted to
use my art to illuminate the silence of the injustices I’ve experienced as an Asian American –
the silent experiences of all immigrants, incomers, and othered people. The work exhibited here gives the viewer an insight into who I am, where I came from, and my family’s experience.
My father was nineteen years-old when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Two months later
President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. All persons of Japanese ancestry in much of the US were forced into ten incarceration camps located in remote areas of the western United States. My father and his family were sent to Manzanar in California.
My mother’s father was a “Paper Son”. The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882 – 1943) barred
Chinese immigration and naturalization. Paper Sons were young male or female Chinese
immigrants who purchased (forged) papers to falsely imply they were born in the United States and were simply returning to the US after a sojourn in China. Being a Paper Son was the only way families could reunite and grow in support of the Chinese communities that were already established in the US.
My family’s history shaped my interest in immigration, culture and social justice. Along with
discovering and comprehending the darker side my family’s American Dream, I’m curious about what it must have been like for my ancestors to come to America – the actual daily experience of living here when laws, policies, and practices essentially said/say “you’re not welcome”.
Frankly, I’m not sure if I could navigate the obstacles imposed on current immigrants in
achieving naturalization status in the U.S.
I’ve pursued my quest to understand immigrant, incomer, and othered experiences by
photographing people from countries around the world and learning their stories. For this
exhibit, and out of respect and admiration for the gallery’s namesake- and my artistic muse – I
chose to make photographs in the cities Parks photographed in, and the cities I believe he
would have photographed in were he alive today. In so doing, I’ve expanded my world, gained deep appreciation for the fortitude of immigrants, incomers, and othered people, and expect to be working on this theme for many more years.