This Does Not Authorize Re-Entry

On September 6th, 2009, I arrived in Canada, 18 years old. On October 3rd, 2019, I became a permanent resident of Canada.

With my newly-granted status, a decade of uncertainty and insecurity has begun to recede. What remains, however, is sorrow for the rupture with my birth country. This long-awaited reward is bitter sweet.

This Does Not Authorize Re-Entry marks the end of my ten year period living in Canada as a temporary resident. I take this opportunity to explore and reflect upon the process of navigating through the Canadian Immigration system.

In 2013 memories of my Beijing childhood began to emerge in my work. When I was 9 years old, the ancient Hutong neighbourhood where I’d grown up had been demolished by government order. My family, along with many others, was forced to relocate. My experience of this early dislocation drew a parallel with the impermanence and vulnerability I felt as a temporary resident in Canada. Symbols and phrases taken from my immigration documents, which I see as mark-makings of personal history, are paired with and embedded in this body of work. This exhibition illuminates a single theme: the psychological impact of displacement over a period of time and a self-hood pieced together with numbers, abbreviated codes and a passport.

2019, Craig Gallery, Dartmouth, NS

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