Jennifer Tran

My work considers language, translations and intergenerational narratives. Out of necessity it is collaborative, making use of the varied skills and interests of my family. Trained as an architect, I attempt to quantify the domestic sphere and look for meaning in the organization of personal objects. My interests, however, veer toward universal themes of migration, labor and aspiration.

Born in 1981 in Toronto, I am currently based between Long Beach, CA, a Mediterranean-inspired Canadian suburb, and a Vietnam as remembered by others.

Visual Arts

Genres

Contact Information

Jennifer Tran
jennifer.anh.tuyen@gmail.com

Artist Links

Website

Artist Work

please fill in the blanks (2022)
After our grandfather passed away, we found – strewn around my mother’s house - his illness-related notes jotted down on various scraps of paper written in English, and sometimes in Vietnamese. His unspoken words complete an imagined English language assignment containing sentences that deny illness, death and grief.

that's enough dear (2022)
Soft and fuzzy posters illustrate opposing political views regarding Trump within my Vietnamese immigrant family. The title of this work is a translation of my father’s conciliatory interjection “thôi đi em,” which he often whispered to my mother during our disagreements.

confetti (2021)
My grandparents played the lottery regularly, and folded and tore paper towel sheets into smaller squares in order to conserve them. These sheets and slips of paper are hand-cut, cropped and layered, combining labor with decorativeness and and utility, and labor and commodity.