Angel Island #5, Emily Hanako Momohara

These three photographs are from Emily Hanako Momohara’s Angel Island series, which reflects on her family history. Momohara’s great-grandparents passed through the Angel Island Immigration Station on their way from Japan to the United States. In the early 20th century, migrants were held in cramped temporary housing at the Immigration Station for periods ranging from a few days to months.
Momohara states:
“Much likes its sister Ellis Island in New York, Angel Island processed immigrants based on national origin, gender, and politics. My great-grandfather passed through Angel Island when entering the U.S. and later went back to Japan to get my great-grandmother… In my quest to understand my great-grandparents’ experience, I camped on the island for three days and two nights. I hiked with my gear up to the campsite and noticed the beauty of the landscape, the lush green of our U.S. West Coast, evergreen trees, and the untamed wilderness of the island. During my days, I wandered the small island and collected bits of nature that I then used to created tiny landscapes and islands of my own. The still lifes reference ikebana, traditional Japanese flower arrangement, and the format of the photographs point to Japanese hanging scrolls… In the evenings, I photographed the still lifes on the picnic table with a flashlight. The spotlight on the objects calls attention to the cultural past in these created memories.”