"Sojourns" is a contemplative exploration of migration, offering viewers a resting point to reflect on the fluid boundaries of existence. This art show, presented at the Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation and curated by ENGAGE Projects, features the works of Edra Soto, Derrick Woods-Morrow, Huong Ngo, and Alejandro Figueredo Diaz-Perera. It delves into the complexities of migration and its impact on body, space, and identity. Through their diverse practices, these artists unravel the liminality of migratory experiences, inviting audiences to engage with the nuanced intersections of personal and collective histories. The exhibition serves as a profound meditation on the themes of displacement, transience, and the continuous search for belonging in an ever-changing world.
Each artist in "Sojourns" brings a unique perspective to the theme of migration. Hương Ngô draws from the stories of her family’s nearly two year-long stay in Hong Kong refugee camps through the eyes of her siblings, who were children at the time. Derrick Woods-Morrow navigates the displacements caused by migration through symbolic and voyeuristic imagery, exploring how geographical movements shape Black sexual freedoms. Edra Soto’s Graft series intertwines architectural motifs with diasporic memory, creating immersive spaces that foster empathy and reflection. Alejandro Figueredo Diaz-Perera engages with absence and paradox, inviting viewers to decode the phenomenological tensions inherent in migratory experiences. Together, these artists offer a rich and multifaceted examination of migration, urging viewers to consider the fluid and often ambiguous nature of identity and belonging.
Curated by ENGAGE Projects Director, Jennifer Armetta
At the Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation, Ojai, CA
​Alejandro Figueredo Diaz-Perera, Derrick Woods-Morrow, Hương Ngô and Edra Soto
September 6 - October 26, 2024

full press release

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DERRICK WOODS-MORROW
Acts of Becoming an Archipelago, 2019
Triptych
Archival pigment prints
framed

24 x 18 in
61 x 45.7 cm
each

HƯƠNG NGÔ
Presqu'île, April 27, 2018
Cyanotype on cotton

HƯƠNG NGÔ
Port Miou, April 29, 2018
Cyanotype on cotton

ALEJANDRO FIGUEREDO DIAZ-PERERA
Skin 13, 2018
latex paint, spackling paste and drywall
24 x 24 in
61 x 61 cm

ALEJANDRO FIGUEREDO DIAZ-PERERA
Skin 33, 2018
latex paint, spackling paste and drywall
25 x 24 in
63.5 x 61 cm

ALEJANDRO FIGUEREDO DIAZ-PERERA
Skin 25, 2018
latex paint, spackling paste and drywall
25 x 24 in
63.5 x 61 cm

EDRA SOTO
Graft, 2022
mixed mediums
24 x 19 in
61 x 48.3 cm

EDRA SOTO
Graft, 2022
mixed mediums
29 x 24 in
73.7 x 61 cm