Swarm Migration Moody Project Wall, Rice University
Swarm Migration
Comprised of more than one thousand of small resin and ceramic wishbones arnged in a pattern evocative of birds in flight, the installation showcases Flores Ansell practice of implementing imaging technology and light to explore cultural identity. For the Moody Project Wall, the artist used computerized tomography (CT) scans of her own collarbones—comparable to a bird’s furcula, commonly called a wishbone, which is essential to avian flight mechanics—to create her own unique wishbone prototype. Flores Ansell collaborated with Billy Baccam and Alex Ramos of Input Output to create simulations of the wishbones flying, modeled on the movement of flocks of birds. With the help of Rice University students through workshops and installation, Flores Ansell’s Swarm Migration serves as means to express and gather stories of migration, specifically as related to the Filipino diaspora and Filipino history at the university.
Flores Ansell worked closely with the Anakbayan student group at Rice, collaborating with Filipinx students to conduct archival research at the Houston Asian American Archive on campus to illuminate the life story of Rudolfo Hulen Fernandez, the first Asian American student—and first student of color—at Rice (class of 1917). Archival images of Hulen Fernandez along with students’ stories are displayed as part of the final installation. Moreover, the title of the installation, Swarm Migration, references an eponymous poem by Luisa A. Igloria (b. 1961, Baguio, Philippines) that reflects on the Filipino diaspora.
February 2023- August 2023
