Cahuilla Installation: Kimul Hakushwe

Kimul Hakushwe means "the door is open" in the Cahuilla language.

 

The "Signs" were my attempt to make something specifically for the people who live on our reservation. I want to stress here that I really thought a lot about the lives of the people who would have to live with these works on a daily basis. It would be wrong for me to simply "express myself" at the cost of these people's daily experience.

 

Throughout the 20th century, the Cahuilla language has been diminishing with the passing of the older people. Thankfully, the past couple decades have marked a reemergence of interest in learning and perserving our language. I hoped that these works would serve a didactic purpose as well as an aesthetic one.

 

I also would like to point out that some signs included statements that were simple and ordinary, but also somewhat poetic and uplifting.