People’s Kitchen Collective Collaboration
February 4th, 2018
I was asked to collaborate with the People’s Kitchen Collective based in Oakland, California, to develop naturally dyed small scale textile pieces to contribute “To the Table”- “is a meal in remembrance of the signing of Executive Order 9066 in the United States.”The furoshiki (Japanese wrapping cloths) I made reflect on the intersections between Trump's Muslim Ban and Executive Order 9066. The process included speaking with the Nikkei Resisters- a network of social justice activists in the Bay Area Nikkei/Japanese American community committed to remembering WWII atrocities to fight for liberation today. I was invited to gather camellias from WWII incarcerate Flora Ninomiya’s farm to dye textiles with, as she told her and family’s story and history during the internment camps. The use of camellias from Flora’s garden became a material link to her narratives and the use of turmeric became a material link to my own narrative as a Muslim women living in the US. The furoshiki were wrapped around the dessert course of the meal.