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Julie Chang, The Valley of Heart's Delight, 2017. Vinyl mural. Commissioned by the San José Museum of Art for SJMA In/Situ, 2017. Photo by JKA Photography.
The Santa Clara Valley, now called Silicon Valley, was once known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight for its high concentration of orchards, flowering trees, and plants. During World War II, increasing military and shipbuilding investment in the region developed, followed by transistor and electronics industries, leading to the present digital prominence of Silicon Valley. Nonetheless, until the 1960s, the valley was the largest fruit production and packing region in the world with thirty-nine canneries. The population grew from immigrant labor from China and Japan, followed by Italians, Southern Europeans, and workers from the Philippines and Mexico.
In Julie Chang’s mural The Valley of Heart's Delight, patterns and images reference the history of the region. Plum branches and blossoms growing from the corners anchor the design; abstracted forms derived from "dim sum" (Cantonese for "heart’s delight") migrate and intersect with branching linear circuit board paths. These details from early microchips morph into transit lines and urban sprawl.
Chang explores issues of identity in relation to race, gender, class, and the commodification of culture. Like nature—and the Internet—her designs do not remain confined within a given space. They wrap around walls and ceilings, snake into corners, defy boundaries. She engages patterns to map the personal and political forces that shape and misshape our identities and our lives.
Acknowledgments
The Valley of Heart's Delight is a commission of San Jose Museum of Art, with installation oversight from Rich Karson, Director of Design and Operations. SJMA would like to thank Hosfelt Gallery.
