Among

Located in Oakland, CA. Chang’s “Among” features African Ankara, bamboo, and lotus patterns that honor the site’s location adjacent to both Chinatown and the center of the Black Arts Movement.  Bamboo holds significance in both Chinese and Japanese culture, representing the spirit of integrity, loyalty, and the ability to spring back after adversity. The mathematical tessellations of an Islamic pattern speak to transformation and the impermanence of the physical world.  The lotus can be found across systems of belief; in Hinduism (beauty, prosperity, eternity), Buddhism (spiritual awakening and faithfulness), and Egyptian mythology (purity and rebirth).  The African Ankara (or Dutch Wax print) pattern holds a shape that might be interpreted as a UFO, which works as a playful metaphor for the experience of alienation in the pursuit of belonging.