by & by

by & by

In my debut film, by & by, I use hand-animation techniques to juxtapose the story of my great-grandmother’s twin boys, whose lives were lost to eclampsia in China in 1919, with that of my own twin boys, who survived the same fate a century later in the United States. Using a range of mixed media, I draw source material from Grace’s memoirs, interviews with Grace’s last surviving child, public archives, and home videos. Words have an important role of this film, appearing as snippets of original text from Grace’s memoirs. The frames of her film are built in layers of acrylic paint and found and personal artifacts. The piece is both deeply personal and universal; I hope it prompts you to see the poetry that underlies our connectedness both in times of grief and in times of joy.

You can view the latest edit of my film, completed in 2024 with the addition of Mandarin subtitles, here.

SCREENINGS OF THIS WORK: 

  • Duke Premiere at Full Frame Theater, Durham, NC, 2021.
  • Streaming Encore with Screen/Society, 2021.
  • Shadowbox Studio, Durham, NC, 2021.
  • Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre, Nanjing, China, 2024.

PRESS COVERING THIS WORK INCLUDES: