Mark Tan
Sight Unseen
September 2–October 1, 2023

Sight Unseen is a representation of displacement, belonging, and defeat through the Department of Homeland Security’s Arrival/Departure Record, known as Form I-94, which is issued to aliens admitted to the United States. This form shows the terms of your admission, including your legal status, the length of time you may stay, and your expected departure date. For migrants, it represents the experience of being tracked and recorded in the United States.

The work depicts sympathy through hardship, accessibility, and the desire of a migrant to find a place. This exhibition includes the continuous clunk of a time recorder, indicating that time here is temporary and will always expire; it also suggests the perpetual motion of lived experiences of entering the United States and the hurdles that migrants encounter, underscored by a newspaper that shares the stories of Tan’s family and their journey in search for a new life. Labor is what brought the artist to the United States, and labor is what allows the artist to stay.

About the artist:

Mark Tan is a first-generation Canadian born and raised in Toronto by Filipino immigrants. He produces interactive sculptures made from reclaimed solid wood, found materials, and domestic construction building materials at an architectural scale. His work expresses the emotional value of preconceived notions, longing, and disconnectedness in seeking acceptance within a community.

He received his MFA in Furniture Design and Woodworking in the Craft/Material Studies program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. His work has been exhibited internationally at exhibitions such as the Messler Gallery in Rockport, ME; Patterson-Appleton Gallery in Denton, TX; Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA; Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern, PA; Aspen Art Museum in Aspen, CO; and the DeLeon White Gallery at the Gladstone in Toronto, ON. He has participated in residencies at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and the Windgate Artist-in-Residence at San Diego State University. He is currently Assistant Professor of Sculpture/Wood at Arizona State University.