EXHIBIT HALL
March 23, 2001 - May 25, 2001 On June 6, 1993, the ship Golden Venture ran aground in New York Harbor carrying a human cargo of nearly three hundred Chinese refugees. After having nearly circled the globe in six months, the occupants began jumping overboard in a frantic attempt to reach the shore. At least ten people died, six escaped, and the rest were taken to prison where most remained in legal limbo for close to four years. These people were placed in detention in prisons along the East Coast, where they waited for months for hearings with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The policy of indefinitely detetaining refugees seeking political asylum has been the practice in the United States for over fifteen years, and threatens to become the norm. While the policy of indefinite detention applies to people of all nationalities, the issue of Chinese immigration and imprisonment resonates with the historical context of anti-Chinese exclusion laws (1882-1943), which excluded Chinese from citizenship by naturalization and halted Chinese immigration for 60 years of America's History. However, these Chinese refugees dealt with the years of boredom and
frustration of incarceration with imagination and industry using materials
they could muster to create images of hope. This eagle, crafted of
recycled magazines, toilet paper, wire, glue, and paint, is one of
thousands of sculptures created by the detained refugees. Over the years,
many refugees have shared the plight of being caught between governments;
nevertheless the refugees of the Golden Venture transcended the
confinement of their cells and created both meaning and beauty from the
most ordinary of materials. |
