Nicole Ji Soo Kim

엄마의 손

멸치 손질 (deheading and gutting anchovies) is an activity that my mom did routinely in order to prep for stews and soups. My performance of this action was to reflect on this memory of my mother keeping our family fed. In our conversation, we talk about her efforts in helping us make friends and adjust to the new culture. At the same time, she discusses her concern over the possibility of us (her children) forgetting our Korean culture. She did everything in her hands to keep this from happening while understanding our struggles to adapt to the new environment. With this, I titled the work 엄마의 손 which translates to Mother’s hand.

“I have a conversation with my mom about her immigrant experience while reenacting a memory of her deheading and gutting anchovies. ”