Verbal Description: Pao Houa Her’s Untitled (Portrait)

Pao Houa Her’s Untitled (Portrait), 2017 is an inkjet print. It measures 52.5 × 42 inches (133.4 × 106.7 cm). It is from the series After the Fall of Hmong Teb Chaw

In this black and white print by Pao Houa Her, an older Hmong woman sits surrounded by large leafy plants as if she is in a jungle. She gazes to our left. Her expression is thoughtful. Her hair is pulled back and an earring dangles from her left ear. Leaves from the surrounding plants cover the top of her head. Garlands from white flowers dangle from the top of the image but they do not reach her head. Her right elbow rests on something that we cannot see but for one very big leaf emerging from under her arm. Her left hand clasps her right wrist. The elegant fingers of her right hand hang down. She is dressed in a brocaded jacket from which a white collar of a shirt appears at the neck. Her jacket spreads slightly open upon her lap. The bottom part of her outfit is black, and the image is cropped below her lap.

After the Fall is a body of work that has two types of images. One group are portraits that are set up in a way that resemble traditional Hmong portraiture. In traditional Hmong portraiture the individual is placed in the center and they are surrounded by fake florals or greenery. In Her’s portraits, the artist photographed Hmong women from a senior day care center at the site and surrounded them by plants found in the center. The artist volunteers at the senior center and knows the woman in this work.