Security Blanket

photos by Dan Lynh Pham + Andy Mai

Security Blanket is an ongoing series that mirrors the ghostly precision of an x-ray scan. Translucent quilted panels reveal obscured forms within and evokes a conveyor belt of an airport security checkpoint where objects are neatly contained, yet subject to scrutiny. It echoes the way memories and identity are carried across borders, both physically and psychologically, through molded polyester fabric forms that are suspended within the quilt.

At the airport, racial profiling dictates how one is perceived. We are judged by our appearance, name, and belongings. This scrutiny extends beyond TSA lines, shaping the everyday reality of immigrants and refugees navigating American life. The molded fabric form in the quilt preserve objects tied to memory, mirroring the permanence of experience and expectation. Heated into shape, they speak to how memory is formed, how identity is shaped under pressure, and how immigrants are expected to conform to imposed molds. It speaks directly to the immigrant and refugee experiences, where the tension between cultural preservation and assimilation is a constant negotiation.

This series examines the duality of "security," through a x-ray effect within the quilt and highlights how the pursuit of refuge is met with relentless inspection. The textures in the fabric reflects the experience of being seen but not understood, examined but not accepted.

Security Blanket invites an uneasy intimacy. Its transparency turns the viewer into an observer, a voyeur peering into personal artifacts, raising questions about privacy, belonging, and the weight of migration.