Pankita Patel
Language Barrier, 2019. 17 x 17 inch (Each Poster)
Artist Statement — Patika Patel
Language Barrier documents the experiences of those immigrating to the United States who struggle to understand the nuances of the English language spoken by Americans.
The artwork aims to inform English speaking citizens of the obstacle’s immigrants are facing, and also let immigrants know they are not alone in their efforts to assimilate. International university students were invited to write their experiences concerning language barriers on a luggage tag, which is in reference to the fact that people flying into the U.S. to start their new life are often limited to bringing two suitcases. The posters feature quotes from these students’ accounts. The quotes are written in the native language of each student to provide a language barrier experience to the audience which is mostly English-speaking citizens. The work will grow and evolve as new stories are gathered.
