(No) Refuge In Mourning Daylight
by Renee Ya
Renee created powerful, experimental visual and auditory art piece renders of her Family’s and Hmong Community’s diaspora. From the sound of planes bombing the rice fields to the uncertainty of sponsorship at the Refugee Camp, Renee’s art is haunting, yet visceral.
It is recommended to play audio at 40% volume.
Secret No More - 01 - Rice Paddies in Mourning
“An experimental visual and auditory journey drawing from the stories of my father who was a 10 year old boy when the war in Vietnam crisscrossed the borders of Laos. Where the sounds of jets, bombs, and gun fire could be heard ricocheting from hillside to hillside.”
Secret No More - 02 - Mekong at Dawn
“Inspired by stories from my mother who was two at the time of crossing the Mekong. After immigrating with her parents and eldest sister for months after the fall of Saigon in 1975, the USA CIA and military soldier abandoned the Hmong people leaving them to be persecuted by the Lao government. Many faced internment in political camps and many more were hunted and killed. When crossing the border of Laos into Thailand in hopes to be resettled in a refugee camp, the only thing separating them from hope of a better future laid the Mekong river. My mother's memory is vivid with the absolution of death and the depths of the rushing river surrounding her. Bloated bodies floating in the river, the risk of being captured; her parents knew that the only way to save their family was to put their children into the water and to not stop swimming until they reached land.”
Secret No More - 03 - No Refuge In Daylight
“Food rationed. Shelter make shift. Families squished together trying to make what they could work. Many having little to nothing to their name. My parents both were settled into Ban Vinai. Some stayed months and were sponsored by family members or churches in the United States, France, Canada... some stayed decades.”
