Fishing for the Stories Left

Print Photo Book, Exhibited June 2022 at UCLA Broad Art Center

Eight decades have passed since Japanese immigrant fishers, who were instrumental in shaping Los Angeles' canning industry, were forcibly evacuated from the Port of Los Angeles during WWII. Originally aimed at finding remnants of oral history in San Pedro, the project evolved into a documentation of the neighborhood's contemporary fishing community. The gatekeeping of the ocean also emerges as a theme through the numerous no trespassing signs, high barbed wire, vast artificial ports, piling cargo boxes and the long detour around the beach that serves surrounding private properties. The question of “Who does the ocean belong to?” “Is this what the ocean wants?” repeated in my mind. The book showcases the coexistence of humans, machines, and animals with the ocean through scenes of industrial landscapes and wildlife. Featuring portraits of fishers and boat staff, “Fishing of the Stories Left” also highlights the community’s perspectives amid rising marine pollution and reflects on the parallels between devastated habitats and erased human histories.