24” x 36”

mixed media (rice sack, beads, sequins, stenciled text)

In 1940, Chin Wing Chu (James Chin), entered the U.S. through Ellis Island under the false identity of Chin Hong Seung. He was a "paper son" who claimed a distant cousin as his father. Only 13 years old, he stayed at Ellis Island for two weeks. During his entire stay, he and the other Chinese immigrants were separated from other immigrants. His group had no women and only two or three children, one of them a girl. He was the second son of the family, conceived when his father returned from the U.S. for a short visit to China, and born after his father's departure. A "son of a native," his father did not have a family when he lived in the U.S., and could not legally bring James as his son. The family decided that James' older brother should stay in China because he was married. So James was selected to emigrate. Once he was released from Ellis Island, James worked in the family laundry business with his real father. In Brooklyn, James enrolled in a foreign students' class where he was immersed in the English language. In a year, he completed three grades, the fifth through seventh. James' high school education was interrupted when he was drafted to serve in World War II.