Homward Journey
There is no Chinatown in Alabama, but that may no longer matter to Qiumei, who has long since come to see it as a new continent to plough her way through life.
Words by Yujing Zhuge
In the geographical context of the ‘foreign land’, ‘home’ becomes a symbol, representing all distant, vague, and eventually fading points of light. Yet, when we search for and yearn for it, it transforms into tangible memories: the dress we wore during a childhood beauty pageant, the smell of diesel from our father’s workshop, and the neon sign that lit up our family restaurant day after day. Thus, the sense of belonging becomes a keen perception, connecting the inner self with the world, summoning everyone on their journey back home. In Living in Places Without China Towns, Ziru Tang uses a sensitive perspective and warm imagery to document the lives of six immigrant families: Mo, Qiumei, Mike, Becky, Li, and Elizabeth. He explores the process of immigrants seeking a sense of belonging in a foreign land. Tang's solo exhibition, titled ‘Homeward Journey’ focusing on the themes of ‘Asian identity’ ‘immigration’ and ‘belonging’ was displayed at the 4C Gallery. In this exhibition, Ziru Tang invites the audience to enter his inner world and understand his unique interpretation and keen perception of the world.
According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), The total number of immigrants in the United States reaches 43.5 million as of 2021, Although tensions in U.S. vs China relations have caused a decline in the number of immigrants from China over the past two years, they still remain the third largest source group of immigrants to the U.S. (after Mexico and India). With immigrants from China accounting for 5% of the 45.3 million immigrants in the U.S. as of 2021. In addition, the majority of Chinese immigrants in the U.S. are legal residents, but according to MPI estimates, as of 2019, about 390,000 people, or 4 percent of the 11 million total illegal immigrants, is without legal status. Besides, even though the United States is a vast country, the majority of Chinese immigrants reside in California and New York.
In the 1840s, the American West was the scene of a gold rush that lasted nearly a decade, with people arriving from Australia, Russia, South Africa, and Asia in anticipation of getting a piece of the Golden State. The gold rush triggered a wave of human, material and financial mobility that fuelled the rapid growth of the American economy. Since then, the United States has become a dream destination for gold seekers from all over the world, and in the decades that followed, it continued to attract people from far and wide to find their new lives here.
And leaving home is never an easy decision. After being smuggled into New York City from her impoverished hometown, 20-year-old Qiumei's vision of America was shattered by the dirty backrooms and endless hustle and bustle of the kitchen. After ten years of working in restaurants in New York's Chinatown, Qiumei finally paid off her stowaway debt and moved with her husband to Alabama, where they opened a restaurant that operates 364 days a year, with only one day off, Independence Day. To save money, Qiumei's children help out at the restaurant every day after school, where they study for schoolwork and practice piano and football. The restaurant is not only a venue for the couple's work; it has also become a home-like space that documents the bittersweet moments of family life and the children's growth. The physical sense of her hometown is so crumbling, poor and backward that you just want to run as far away as possible; there is no Chinatown in Alabama, but that may no longer matter to Qiumei, who has long since come to see it as a new continent to plough her way through life.
In Ziru Tang’s visual research project Living in places without Chinatown, he uses a quiet and neutral camera language to show his keen capture of the immigrant status of the Qiumei family. Tang's work is narrative, poetic, neutral and not lacking in sensual gaze. The casual everyday and natural portraits implicitly show the living conditions of the immigrant family and their spiritual world, while also revealing their dedication and hard work in running their lives.
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2022, the population of Alabama totals about 5.07 million people, of which 68.9% are white, 26.8% are black or African American, and only 1.6% are Asian, which means that there is no basis or conditions for establishing a large Chinese community in Alabama, leading to a more discrete and isolated existence for Asians in a foreign land. As a result of the rapid flow of capital, almost all major cities around the world are characterized by racial diversity, and conflicts over racism occur frequently; after the pandemic, the Trump administration introduced a series of immigration policies reflecting the strong anti-Chinese sentiments of the US government, which further marginalized and made transparent the Chinese people and exacerbated their existential predicament in the US. In the workplace, ethnic Chinese often encounter discrimination brought about by stereotypes, which further strengthens their glass ceiling in the workplace, leaving many talented Chinese with no way to advance; in addition, the class solidification of the capitalist society further ‘purifies’ the white people’s control over political power, cutting down on the participation rights of ethnic Chinese.
At the same time, the geographical context of the ‘foreign land’ makes identity difficult. Living in a non-native language environment and in a very different cultural context is like eating raw rice, which is not so bad as to be chewy, but is definitely not to one’s liking; it is also like Qiumei’s not-so-authentic Japanese restaurant, it is the product of a cultural mishmash that does not blend well, and survives only by catering to the food preferences of local consumers. The neon signs that light up day after day are like a metaphor: a point of light, a dream that is only warm and bright in the dark, but so ethereal and illusory that it is hard to get close to.
The map of the United States from west to east, from golden California to prosperous New York, this piece of land carries the American dream of too many Chinese immigrants, who have left their geographic hometowns, longing to establish their identities and find their own places in a foreign land; their geographic hometowns are beyond their reach, and the immigrants’ definitions of their homes and hometowns have long since broken away from the limitations of geographic location, turning them into a kind of intangible spiritual perception. It connects people’s most fragile sensibility and imagination, and calls every lonely and worried soul to accept every retreat or return; the stories of migrants are always about losing their whereabouts and re-locating, and ‘separation’ is always the keyword of their journey to find their homeland, but just as the parable of Moses leading the Israelites to escape from Egypt revealed: every brave man is rewarded, so no matter how far the journey may be, we will arrive in the end.
Source: U.S. Immigration Data Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau.
About Artist
• Currently lives and works in Los Angeles
• Works have been exhibited at the Lishui Photography Festival and the Huangping Local Image Festival
• Awarded the "Birch Cup" Creative Photographer Award at the China Creative Photography Exhibition
• Featured in the 297th issue of China Photographer Magazine and interviewed by Strait Photography Magazine
@zirutang_photography
https://www.zirutangart.com/
Education Background
MFA Photography Columbia College, Chicago, IL
BFA Photography Beijing Film Academy School of Photography, Beijing, China
