Art as healing reflection

Q.) How do you see the role of art in healing and making meaning of our past and current histories (individual, communities, and nation)?

Through the expression of invisible histories, experiences, and stories that may only be felt or remembered, art acts as a healing medium that allows for “reclaim[ing]” (Fred Wong) identity, culture, and relationships. Art thus “rejuvenat[es]” (Wong) by instilling new meaning in these three domains and inviting other viewers to share in this process of meaning-making. The written word can only express so much, yet art allows for non-verbal communication and a shared experience of healing. Tuan Nguyen’s “pain bodies” at the Wing Luke demonstrate how artists may use their work to express the intangible, making visible and legible what may only be physical felt or remembered. This release of emotions, physical pain, and memories allows for healing. Nguyen’s work also reclaims a narrative of the Vietnam War by disrupting U.S. state-centric portrayals of it as a fight for freedom, instead shifting our focus to the experiences of individuals and communities impacted by U.S. foreign policy through a multigenerational, bottom-up retelling of the war and its effects. By opening spaces for new truths to come forward, Nguyen’s art rejuvenates and deepens our understanding of the war through another perspective. Art may also involve an act of “play” (Artur Deus Dionisio) as an expression of the intangible and healing practice. In the “Resisters: A Legacy Of Movement From The Japanese American Incarceration” exhibit, there was an art piece that asked 4th and 5th generation Japanese Americans to physically pack a suitcase or bag of belongings, recreating the experience of previous generations forced to relocate to incarceration camps under Executive Order 9066. This piece allowed these participants as well as me, the viewer, whose family had never been incarcerated but had lived under martial law in Hawai’i during World War II, to “play” through the recreating of this history. Rather than silencing or hiding memories of pain and resistance, reclaiming them offers an opportunity to heal. This exhibit allows for rejuvenation in the sense that artists have space to express invisible histories and feelings in public, creative acts that offer us a chance to tell our own stories.

One installation in the Wing Luke's "Resisters" exhibit that draws connections between the incarceration of children from different communities.