Liminal States

In Liminal States, artists Maya Jeffereis and Elliott Katz have collaborated on a two-channel video installation and itinerant library that examines the longstanding history of separating families and incarcerating minorities in the United States. As grandchildren of Japanese American incarceration survivors, the artists have created an experimental documentary that weaves personal, cultural, and historical memories together through a combination of interviews, family photos and archival images. The artists link the history of Japanese American incarceration with the current practice of separating immigrant families and detaining children in government facilities. One such facility, Fort SIll in Oklahoma, has served as a relocation camp for Indigenous Americans and a residential school for children in the 19th and 20th centuries, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility today. Drawing a comparison between these histories, Jeffereis and Katz created a found footage video montage comprised of propaganda films, news coverage, and personal videos. The artists invite visitors to further engage with these histories in the Itinerant Library which contains a selection of books recommended by the artists. In Liminal States, the artists link the past with the present in an attempt for history not repeat itself.