In a time when immigration is an increasingly polarizing topic in both politics and everyday life, Pieces of Home seeks to share immigrant stories in hopes of presenting another side of the conversation. The purpose of this project is twofold. First, it shares the stories of first and second generation immigrants on an infamously homogenous campus. Washington University students often exist within insular bubbles, seemingly unaffected by issues facing the world around them. By using immigrant students as subjects, this project seeks to both explore the diversity of Washington University’s campus and expose students to the issues that affect the daily lives of their friends, classmates, and peers.
Secondly, it allows the subjects the opportunity to not only voice their experiences but to present objects - both tangible and conceptual - that connect them to their immigrant identities. While many of the objects may seem ordinary - a soda bottle keychain, or jewelry - each holds meaning to the owner. Whether it’s reminiscent of their parents’ international love story or the remnants of an estate destroyed by war, the smallest things can provide connections to those whose homelands are thousands of miles away. For these students, the objects are little pieces of home.
