Mosaic: Immigrant Stories
Mosaic: Immigrant Stories project grew out of my work with immigrants in Pennsylvania during 2024 and 2025. In a series of workshops, participants who emigrated from Ukraine, Venezuela, Tunisia, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and beyond came together to create, reflect, and share. They brought photographs from their past and present—images of where they came from and where they are now—and paired them with words about their journeys, memories, and the meaning of home. Everyone kept their own collages as personal artworks, and with their permission, their stories and images inspired me to create a book that honors them.
The result is a 125-page, hand-bound book made of handmade paper. It includes pigment and photo transfers of participants’ images, handwritten text, thread, and small personal elements woven together to form a living archive of courage, hope, and belonging. Mosaic celebrates the voices of immigrants born elsewhere but shaped here, reminding us that there is nothing more American than the experience of being a distant or recent immigrant.
This project was made possible through the generosity of Thrive International in Pennsylvania, which facilitated the workshops, and the Puffin Foundation, which supported the creation of the hand-bound book.