Displace is a text piece that visualizes my interior reaction to a moment or a situation of social awkwardness. Displace arises from the words, “space” and “place” and plays upon how language occupies both.

The most poignant example in my life is a family dinner. All at once, family members will talk to each other in Taiwanese, address the waiters in Cantonese, discuss money (and other private affairs) in Thai, and then attempt to include the kids in English, as a good-natured gesture. Despite the intentions, I often feel confused, awkward, and overwhelmed by the multitude of inaccessible conversation swirling around me.

I feel displaced a level below my family, unable to understand all the nuances because my Mandarin skills are not on par with the rest of my family.
Displace is the visual representative of those feelings–the word ‘Displace’ has been sanded into the wall–it does not appear on the same surface level as other pieces in the gallery, but must fend for itself, sanded into the wall.