Documenting New York’s Diversity
I first arrived to New York City two years ago and only taken the subway as my mode of transportation. However, while I was pregnant, I had difficulty walking up stairs, so I started to take the bus. Even though taking the bus is slower than taking the subway, I was not feel inconvenienced. I enjoyed looking at streets, buildings, and people though window of a moving bus. I found the people on the street grabbed my attention. I am fascinated by the variety of skin tones, hair color, and diverse ethnic group. This is something I could not find in Korea and has left a huge impression in my life. This is the real joy of riding a bus.

For M5 bus trip, I created a personal memory tape of what I saw and felt. I took pictures of people who are interested to me. Afterwards I created a color charts based on the person’s hair, face, and clothing. I decided to roll my memory tape place it in a small metal tin the same way I used to in high school, when I used to share my personal secret with my best friend. The memory tape is my personal account of the experiences I felt during the M5 bus.

This is an example of one person, I encountered on my trip, along with the color swatch I drew from the image.

(click the above image to see large size.)

This trip gave me an opportunity to think about people in New York. Why did I see most of African Americans and Hispanics over 140th street? Why did I see only Caucasian in Riverside Park? Is this the boundary dictated by race or culture? Does living in America mean living separately by ethnic group who share the same culture and lifestyle in specific geographic areas? I am a minority ethnic group. How will my daughter and I live this country in the future?