Upon Closer Inspection brings together artworks from three artists who work across different media to explore personal history and lived experiences as they relate to the formation of individual and collective identity. Through drawing, painting, photography, textile, and performance, the selection of artwork from Adama Delphine Fawundu, Phung Huynh, and Claire A. Warden examines complexities of how cultural identity, agency, and representation inform everyday life.

Through experiences of being the first in their family to be born in the United States to those that encompass migration as a refugee and immigrant, the artists’ stories intersect and diverge, sharing intimate aspects of their lives and critical perspective about acceptance. Each practitioner visualizes details of social interactions, cultural heritage, and colonial structure that have impacted themselves and their communities, calling attention to the dualities that exist as a result. Fawundu’s multidisciplinary work directly addresses her familial roots, exploring tradition and connecting with the African diaspora. Huynh’s drawings and paintings reflect on the refugee experience, representation, and the act of assimilation on individuals in Southeast Asian communities. While Warden uses experimental approaches in photography to dissect and interpret personal interactions directed at her physical appearance. The artworks included in the exhibition consider how the nuances of physical and psychological trauma are transferred and internalized, sometimes passing through multiple generations.

Upon Closer Inspection is a virtual production of the University Art Gallery in the School of Art + Design at San Diego State University and is organized by Galleries and Exhibitions Coordinator, Chantel Paul. The exhibition and events are sponsored by the School of Art + Design and the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts.