Caitlin Bury & Lenah Barge
Caitlin Bury & Lenah Barge
The Turn of Time, A Mirrorball
An Original Installation
Artwork in Collaboration
Family Room, 2022
All vintage items: Found speakers, ashtray, mirrored tray, literature, furniture.
Caitlin Bury
When You Think of Me, Be Happy!
“When you think of me, be happy!
Go to your heart and be happy!”
David Bury
April 1995
Moved by familial revelations, including the AIDS-related death of my late uncle, David Bury, I began this kind of archaeological investigation roughly five years ago.
As the project expanded over time, encountering different subjects and stories, I have sought to record these hidden oral histories. These artworks seek to investigate the lives of my family members on the periphery, those who do not follow the traditional path.
I use animation, found objects, photographs, and memorabilia from both sides of my family to make connections between us all across time.
Through an original documentary, featuring three family interviews, previously unexplored questions about generational trauma are prompted, excavating stories of sexuality, adoption, capitalism, etc.
These stories become metaphorical boxes in the attics of our families’ minds, only dusted off and uncovered when someone curious like me starts to ask questions.
Questions ensue, but answers may not abound.
Stories My Family Never Tells III, 2022
A documentary film featuring familial interviews, original animation and score, and family photographs.
What I Remember, 2020-2022
A collection of original film photographs accompanied by personal prose. Vintage frames.
Lenah Barge
More Than a Monolith
Posters that communicate themes of family, identity, and social progress inspired by those of social justice movements throughout history, inspired by that of the civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
Featuring old photographs and design elements representing the cultures of my family, who were deeply affected by the social and political movements they experienced while both growing up in Washington D.C. and as Cambodian-Americans who emigrated at the turn of the 70s, this work is a reminder that the American experience is not one-size-fits-all; and more specifically, that people of color live and exist beyond stigmas and societal stereotypes.
Action-Reaction, 2021
Poster designs inspired by those of the Civil-Rights era that reflect attitudes towards modern-day activism and political action in the social media age. They pose the question of how we can be more engaged in our own socio-political climate, as well as how policymakers and people in positions of power can work towards change in their ideology and promises to the people.
Vignettes: Change, Memory & Identity, 2022
12-page zine that combines original designs, family memories and personal writings surrounding recurring themes of memory and identity. Touches on themes of family memories through objects, place being a marker of identity, and having multilayered identities beyond societal stereotypes.