“Lost and Found” Exhibition at IMUR Gallery Features Local NJCU Graduate’ Collage Artwork

What does it mean to be lost and then find yourself again? This is the theme of “Lost and Found,” Weiling Pan’s solo exhibition at IMUR Gallery. Pan, 25, is a Jersey City artist and a former graduate of NJCU who uses collage as a form of storytelling. 

The story follows a robot named Alan who tries to find his identity by searching through his memories and past experiences. This original character, which Pan created when she was in middle school, is a reflection of her own life story. “When I first came here [to America from China], I didn’t know any English, so I couldn’t make any friends,” Pan explained. “Instead, I made my own character and made friends with it.” Soon, she started exploring how this character interacted with other robots and how he found himself through that journey. “I think a person’s life is made up of unique memories and experiences that help us understand who we are,” Pan said. “The robot friends that Alan makes don’t stay with him forever, but they support him for the next stage of his journey.” 

The exhibition starts from right to left, with a large cutout of a hybrid android-woman guiding Alan through the staircase and to his journey. You experience what Alan experiences through this exhibition, and eventually end up writing your own story. In this interactive piece towards the left, viewers are meant to ask questions on what it means to be Lost and Found. Some questions read “What part of your past still lives inside you today?” or “In a world where so much is lost, what does it mean to truly find?” These questions helped viewers to connect with the artwork on a personal level. “I feel a sense of calmness when I see these pieces,” Rafael Rivera, a 9th grader at Dickinson High School said. “The robot doesn’t have a specific face, that’s what makes it so relatable.” 

Pan’s paper cutout art practice also helps her evoke that feeling of memory. She starts by making a digital drawing, then prints it out, traces it, and cuts out colorful cardstock to create a 3D stacking effect in her piece. “Each piece of collage is a memory block that comes together to be one whole scene,” Pan explains. The exhibition shows her creation process, a meticulous and arduous process that involves cutting every single piece of paper to make one whole image. “The craftsmanship to her work is extremely detailed,” Janbi Kaghado, one of the co-curators for this exhibition says, “You can see how time-consuming it is. The time she puts into the layers of her work connect to the emotional connection she has to her subject.” He and Thais Bignardi worked with Pan to curate the pieces and the journey for the viewers. “This solo exhibition is a great achievement for Pan’s past group exhibitions at NJCU,” Kaghado added. 

Pan fostered her love for collage at the JCARTS program, an art program for Jersey City Public School students, when she went to Dickinson High School. One of her teachers, Alex Martinez, who had a profound impact on her arts career, attended her exhibition opening as well. “It’s amazing to see how she has grown throughout the years,” he commented. Later on, she went to NJCU for illustration and made many of her friends through that program. Today, she is still working on her art journey and wondering what will come next for her. “I can’t wait to see where her art journey takes her,” Martinez exclaimed.  

IMUR Gallery is a 2 floor gallery located on 67 Greene St., Jersey City. Founded by Ivy Huang, they hold a variety of exhibitions and are open on Fridays and Saturdays. This exhibition will run from March 14th to March 28th.