Trinh Mai “We are here”

"Ba Co Phu 1931 in Los Angeles Museum of Art 2011"

"Priests 1953 in Downtown Campbell 2010"

"Phat Diem 1951 in Venice Beach 2010"

The title "We Are Here" resonates with me on many different levels. One, is that "we have arrived" as individuals and/or as a people. Another meaning states that “we are present”, consciously living in this moment. And another meaning, a statement that might come from the perspective our ancestors, is that “we are (still) here”. Using some of my photography in conjunction with photos from our family archive, relics of the past find their way into contemporary environments.

Although their lives on earth have passed, the ancestors continue living presently through us. They live on through our language, through our stories, through our memories, through the preservation of traditions, through our characteristics, and through the legacies they have left behind. They are here.