A Shared Table

This painting depicts the shared suffering of Jewish, African, and Chinese refugees alongside American soldiers, wrapped in blankets I decorated with symbols their heritage. Each person carries their own identity, yet they are also collectively human. Amidst destruction, the deep woods, and dirt mattresses, strangers became Gisele’s companions in survival, exchanging not just necessities, but care. “In my home, we brought all kinds of people… we gave them food, fresh food,” she says.
I rendered a still from Gisele’s interview with the USC Shoah Foundation, as my art seeks to honor the continuities of solidarity across generations and causes. In her, I see how survival became an act of communion and I hope to carry the same responsibility forward.