A Filipino-American with a transnational narrative, Pettyjohn possesses first-hand knowledge of the global diaspora. Born in 1983 and raised up in the Philippines, she set forth on the journey to her father’s hometown, Texas of the United States, when she came to age. Displacement and home have since been the keynotes of Pettyjohn’s art as the continuous journey across the Pacific Ocean is both an exploration of the unknown and a root-seeking homecoming.
The artist named her latest paintings as “Unearthed” followed by different letters and numbers, suggesting the depicted clothes as relics to be rediscovered, understood and expressed as to imply stories of the past. Continuing from three exhibitions held in Manila and Taipei separately during 2013, “Bundle”, “The Glass Between Us (Unbundle)”, and “Witherland”, clothes of different textures play the major roles of the new show “A Web of When and Where”. However, people are no longer present, and the contrasting elements such as cold and warmth, wet and dry, interior and exterior become less apparent. In large paintings of this exhibition, fabric, earth and plants are composed into scenes of profuse expression, seemly implying the diversification of the world. Fragments of fabric are further abstracted from any context of setting or collage and brought into focus in a series of smaller paintings. Here, the fragments floating in a wavy space of air and earth, as if in a constantly changing and unpredictable journey, and at the same time referring to an absent whole.
Having two geographical origins in her life, Pettyjohn said: “Travel leads to the realization of my place in the world and the journey of self-discovery that inevitably happened. I’ve come to realize that I will always be displaced and that home to me is more than one place.” Talking about this exhibition, she stated, “It's about a conversation between the two places. When I am in each place I am both home and away.” The ancient phenomenon of diaspora is endowed with productivity and creativeness in Pettyjohn’s works. “A Web of When and Where” is not only a recollection of the past, but also a journey towards the unknown future.
