Sm[ART] Commons Blog editor Mannie McBride interviews Professor Dr. Eunice Uhm about her exhibit in the student gallery, Gallery 51.
M: What led you to wanting to create an exhibit like this one?
Dr. Uhm: I specialize in migration. I study migration and modern/contemporary art in my own research. So, I have always been interested in the topic of diaspora. But I was never really into nature until I got to the Berkshires. Growing up in a city, I didn’t have a close relationship with nature, but since I moved to the Berkshires, I have started to develop a different relationship with nature, and I think that led me to think about the intersection between migration and nature and the difficult histories behind the intersection between the two.
Dr Uhm: I kept reading about all these disasters and traumas of migrants crossing the border and the loss of lives that happens due to the extreme heat in the desert. For example, in 2022, 53 migrants were found dead in the back of a truck due to extreme heat. So I was constantly thinking about all these kinds of disasters and tragedies of the climate crisis that impact the lives of migrants in multiple ways.
Dr. Uhm: At the same time there is this historical and contemporary rhetoric around how to protect nature, particularly from politicians and mainstream environmentalism. Politicians claim immigration is the biggest threat to our environment or nature. At the same time, the Biden administration just bypassed 26 environmental laws to build the U.S.- Mexico border walls in Texas. I saw a lot of contradictions and hypocrisies in our policies and mainstream environmentalism, particularly concerning migration. So, I just really wanted to think more about that subject and explore how contemporary artists are exploring this issue.
M: Why is an exhibit like this one an important one to showcase in the world's current climate?
Dr. Uhm: I feel really iffy about it. I recently read an essay titled, “Eco Exhibitions Won't Save Us” by Marv Recinto. I think about the limits of art exhibitions; like what does it exactly do? What kind of social changes can we actually make with art? And I feel ambivalent about it in a way, but I did want to create a space where environment and nature can be discussed beyond the kind of conversations that happen in the mainstream media, and that could shed light on the relationship between nature and migration. I wanted to highlight BIPOC voices and people in the diaspora who are not often included in the contemporary discourses around ecology. So, I hope that this contributes to the diversity of conversations that is happening.
M: Do you ever think there will be a time where imperialism and ongoing settler colonialism fade into the past?
Dr. Uhm: That is a good question. I also want to hear your thoughts. What do you think?
M: I mean, I hope, but I do not think it will. I think if it does happen, it'll be a while. You get new colonizers trying to take over constantly. So, there is always going to be someone who wants the power. And it is going to be hard to change and make a world that is not that power structure.
Dr. Uhm: I think that when I am thinking about imperialism and settler colonialism these days, I am mostly thinking about Israeli settler colonialism. But on a daily basis, I am always thinking about U.S. imperialism, settler colonialism, and the way that we are all implicated in these as a settler occupying this Indigenous land (even if we may not want to). At the same time, I sometimes feel like we are witnessing the end of an empire (or all empires) right now. We are witnessing and experiencing very catastrophic consequences of the environmental crisis, that may be read as symptomatic signs of the empire’s failures.
Dr. Uhm: I feel like there is, especially amongst the younger generation, a higher awareness and critical views towards these imperial empires. And I hope that we are witnessing or experiencing the fall of this empire. I do not know if another empire will emerge and take over, but I think that we are perhaps moving towards acknowledging the importance of Indigenous voices, knowing their struggles and their radical politics, learning from them, and supporting their struggles. I hope that we are fighting for a better future. It is easy to be pessimistic because we are living in such a shit show. It’s difficult not to be pessimistic when we are experiencing the violence of an imperial empire every day. I may not see the end of this empire, but hopefully next generation will.
Dr. Uhm: It was Mariame Kaba who said “Hope is a discipline.” Perhaps it reads like a cliché now, but when everyone is pessimistic about the world, I think we need to be more disciplined in practicing hope. Indigenous Peoples are continuously fighting to resist, and they are fighting for a better future, for the end of occupation, and for the end of settler-colonialism, and I think that us being hopeful for a better future is a part of the support as well.
So I am trying to be hopeful about it. I also think that empires do not last that long. The U. S. has held this hegemonic global power since World War II, and I think it is about time that we go down. That we fall. Stop with the hegemony and the capitalism. Take all that away.
M: How did you come to pick the artists that are featured in this show?
Dr. Uhm: A lot of research. It took me a really long time to pick the artists because there are so many artists who are engaging with ecology. The first artist I thought of was Jumana Manna. I saw Jumana’s work at MoMA PS1 in New York a few years ago, and I was blown away by her work. She had a solo exhibition, and it had these ceramic works that looked like moldy bread. I think it was about the tradition of sharing a bread in Eastern Mediterranean and North African cultures, and it conveyed a practice of care and co-existence. She also had some video works and one of them, Foragers, is going to be shown at Gallery 51. Foragers is a film about the Palestinian tradition of foraging and the impact of Israeli nature protection laws on these customs. We have these “protection” laws, but it critically questions who these laws protect, and how they damage the Indigenous relationship to nature. Also, it was important to have an Indigenous voice, and I wanted to showcase a Palestinian indigenous voice, because Palestinian artists are currently getting severely censored in the U.S. and in the West in general.
Dr. Uhm: Lorena used to be in Ohio and I'm from Ohio as well. We had some connections there, and I saw her work at an exhibition on ecology in Ohio. Her work addresses important themes like the ecology of the borderland and migrants’ landlessness. And she's just a cool person to get to know. I used this exhibition to invite artists that I want to be friends with too. She seemed like a very down to earth and radical person. And her work is tender. She has this one particular installation at Gallery 51 where you can take one candy from her installation, and it is a reference to migrants who cross these deserts for weeks and months with a few liters of water and few candies. Her work allowed me to think more about how they are interacting with this extreme nature and the danger that it poses on their lives. It makes me question our relationship to nature in the Berkshires, as well. Our relationship with nature in the Berkshires is very harmonious and very peaceful.
Dr. Uhm: We just go on little walks, and we enjoy the beauty of nature, which really hinders us from seeing this violence that undergirds our relationship. We are settlers. And the reason why we can enjoy nature is because of the system that is set up so that we cannot think about the violent history that went into developing this kind of relationship. So, I wanted to highlight that and juxtapose that as well. She has these photographs about diasporic communities who have been displaced. They cannot really sustain relationships to nature, so their personal gardens become important, and that led me to question how those in the diaspora are developing new forms of relationships with nature. Questioning the ideas of landlessness, and displacement, and the borderland, and all of those was really interesting, so I wanted to bring her in.
Dr. Uhm: And lastly, LaRissa. I love her for many reasons, but first, she and I are both Korean American, but I think her relationship to Korea may be different from my relationship to Korea. My relationship to Korea is also different from many others, and that is to say – I think these different dynamics illustrate new histories around the Korean diaspora. I was really intrigued by her work that explores this parallel history of slavery and the exploitation of Korean Americans in Hawaii. Her work traces this history of sugar, a material that represents US imperialism, and how the production of sugar in the US allows us to think about the parallel history between Black American and Korean American histories. I thought it was really neat because we often do not learn about these entangled histories. So, for example, the abolition of slavery coincides with the rise of Chinese immigrants, because the U.S. needed cheap labor after the abolition of slavery. There is a history of shared struggles amongst different racial groups. But in school, we learn about slavery, and we might learn about Asian American history, but these are very separate, right? I think she is bringing them together in her work on ecology. Her work also juxtaposes the history of her family against the official history, which is so critical and tender at the same time.
Dr. Uhm: I am really glad that all these artists came together. I think they speak to different histories, but they also relate to each other. For example, when you walk in, you'll see a kind of parallel theme of sugar in LaRissa’s work and Lorena’s work. I think each work contributes a unique perspective on ecology, but they are all in dialogue with each other.
M: Do you have and are you willing to share what your personal connection is to this exhibit?
Dr. Uhm: I kind of talked about the history of migration, but I also wanted to explore that more. I wanted to create a space that is dedicated to learning more about the relationship between migrants and ecology. I didn’t know a lot about that intersection, but I was curious about it, so this exhibition really offered me an opportunity to read more about it, learn more about artists’ works, and what kind of artworks are being produced. It was a way for me to strengthen that relationship. I am still developing this relationship. My relationship with nature is still rather iffy. I am not a very outdoorsy person. But knowing this rich history within the diaspora community made me more open to exploring this topic.
M: What steps could we as a community take to help the activists after this exhibit?
Dr. Uhm: An amazing question! That I am not really sure I know the answer to. What do you all think?
M: It is getting out there. Spreading the word and doing what we can little by little. Especially what you said about how, here in the Berkshires, it is not something that is really seen as much because everybody is about nature here.
Dr. Uhm: I think I always feel kind of weird to answer a question about how we can help activists or become an activist. I am also still growing as an activist. I am still learning. But I sometimes feel really troubled when our relationship with nature is too harmonious or peaceful. I think there should be a sense of discomfort. Every time I go on a walk, I am aware of the violent history that came before so that I can enjoy this nature, right? This violent history of displacement, so that I can have a good relationship with nature. That does not mean that we cannot have a good relationship with nature, but I am always thinking about this difficult history: people who are displaced from this land, and their presence within this space. I feel indebted, but I also feel nurtured and thankful. So I’m always thinking about the people to whom this land belongs. So I am always trying to think about how I can support their struggles, or learn from their radical politics. Once again, going back to the “hope is a discipline,” I try to think about and fight for the end of settler colonialism. I try to have these conversations with people, and I try to surround myself with people who also think similarly, who are also curious, and who are questioning our everyday lives.
M: I am sure there are a lot more we can do, but I think starting the conversation is the first step, and that is what you are doing with this exhibit. You are doing the hard part.
Dr. Uhm: I am an art historian, so I of course love art, but I also question the power of art in a way. What are we going to do with art when 30, 000 Palestinians are getting martyred in Gaza? 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza are being displaced. What is the power of art? What is the power of poetry? What is the power of words and paintings? I go back and forth. Sometimes I become pessimistic and almost sinister about the role of art, but at the same time, I always find myself returning to art. In the most difficult or darkest times, I go back to art, I go back to books. That gives me a sense of comfort and a place to think more and learn more as well. What are your thoughts on art?
M: Well, I think lots of people turn back to the creative arts. Especially in hard times, which is a normal coping mechanism that people use and a lot of art is political. I feel that is also what pushes different artist movements to be in the front. So, I get what you mean by going and receding back into the creative arts.
Dr Uhm: That is so true. I do not think that I rely on art to save lives. We are not medical doctors! But I do think that art perhaps gives us a way to articulate. Things that we want to express, the important values of our life that we uphold, and the reasons why we fight. Art becomes a means to develop and express that. The world that I want to live in is the artistic space that we are trying to create, and we are cultivating that.
M: Everything is art.
Dr. Uhm: I am really excited about this exhibition, and I am excited to have these artists in conversation. We are also planning an artist talk with Lorena and LaRissa on Sunday, March 24 at Gallery 51! Please look out for more information on the event soon!