Lifecycle of an Immigrant

Transparencies and a lightbox, 2025

Lifecycle of an Immigrant is a chart built from five transparent panels displayed on a lightbox.

Each transparency shows a partial diagram. On its own, it doesn’t fully make sense. When the panels are stacked together, they form a single chart. One axis tracks time. The other tracks generational change. The combined image maps how a family slowly becomes “American” over multiple generations.

The work was an attempt to lay out cultural loss in a plain way. Language fading. Habits disappearing. Certain references no longer being shared. Not as a dramatic break, but as a gradual shift that happens without anyone deciding it should.

Made in collaboration with Alex Cabrera. Photos by Deanna Dent and Samantha Chow.