Lino Print

Ndeic-Bung, 2023: a play on the Mien words for "country/homeland" (deic bung), and "farmland/fields" (ndeic). A nod to Iu Mien + Khmu relationships to land and lineages of agrarianism, tending soil, and land stewardship.

River to the Sea, 2023: A reflection on solidarity with Palestine & our people's shared lineages of resisting/surviving colonization + imperialism and the US war machine - one in green ink depicting the Mekong and Lao landscapes, and one in red ink depicting the Gaza skyline and Mediterranean Sea. 

I'm Khmu, indigenous to what is now known as Northern Laos, and Iu Mien, indigenous to what is now known as Southern China; I'm not Palestinian, but when I see the Palestinian people, I see my people. My ancestors survived many iterations of colonization (the Chinese empire, the Lao empire, the French empire, and most recently, the US empire) - my own maternal grandfather was drafted by the CIA as a child solider at the age of 15 along with many of his friends (some as young as 11 years old) to fight in guerrilla warfare in the jungles of Laos. 

During the Secret War (1964-1975) the US dropped more than 2.5 million tons of ordnance on Laos (more than all the bombs dropped during WWI2 combined). Today, the US is responsible for aiding and supplying the Israeli government with weapons + bombs responsible for the destruction in Palestine  equivalent to 2 nuclear bombs. From Palestine to the Mekong, away with all US bombs!

Iu Mien 4 Palestine, 2024: Inspired by an instagram post made by Palestinian activist, nurse, & freelance journalist Yousef Mema. Dec + Jan was strawberry season in Gaza, but this past season Yousef, like many other Palestinians, were unable to harvest because of the ongoing genocide and displacement at the hands of the occupying Israeli government. 

Like Palestinians, Iu Mien people were also stewards of land and subsistence farmers before their forced displacement during the US's Secret War in Laos. Upon arriving to the US, Iu Mien people settled in highly urbanized environments like Richmond & Oakland. While some adjusted, others sought out the familiar relationship to soil and land by becoming farmers - their choice of produce, strawberries. Now most strawberry stands/farms in the Sacramento/Sonoma Valleys are operated by Iu Mien growers.

As we move into spring and the warmer seasons here in California - perfect for ripening plump strawberries - as we harvest the sweet, red nqimv-nqou that has become a symbol of the Iu Mien diaspora in CA, may we remember our siblings in struggle and move in solidarity with them towards our collective liberation.