Nest in Nest

Nest in Nest is an ongoing body of work that explores migration, motherhood, ecological identity, and belonging through the use of natural materials and textile techniques. Created from preserved leaves, hand stitching, embroidery, and fabric appliqué, the work reflects my experience as a Vietnamese-Canadian mother navigating the spaces between homeland and adopted home, memory and presence, departure and return.
The title Nest in Nest refers to the multiple layers of home we carry throughout our lives. As a migrant, I have learned that belonging is not attached to a single place. Rather, it is formed through relationships, memories, cultural inheritance, and our connection to the natural world. Like birds building nests from gathered fragments, I construct visual narratives from leaves, threads, and found materials that embody both fragility and resilience.
Artistic Approach
The project combines delicate leaf structures with slow stitching practices. Leaves serve as metaphors for migration and ecological connection. They are living records of place, carrying traces of seasons, climate, and growth. Through embroidery and stitching, I create new pathways across their surfaces, symbolizing the invisible threads that connect generations, cultures, and landscapes.
The circular composition featured in the work evokes mandalas, nests, and ecological systems. Interwoven rings suggest cycles of life, interdependence, and the continual process of forming identity. Birds appear as recurring symbols of migration, freedom, and return, reflecting both personal and collective journeys across geographical and cultural boundaries.
The second work assembles overlapping leaves into a protective nest-like structure. Embroidered edges create a sense of care and repair, while the layered forms reference family, ancestry, and the accumulation of lived experiences. Small embroidered birds move between the leaves, representing movement between homes, languages, and ways of belonging.
Themes
Migration and cultural adaptation
Motherhood and caregiving
Ecological identity and connection to land
Memory, ancestry, and intergenerational relationships
Home, belonging, and transformation
Resilience through repair and stitching