Bianca J. Abdi-Boragi at Spring/Break Art Show NYC: migration art and identity woven through suitcases, fruit, sand, and bronze.

Some exhibitions ask viewers to look.

Others ask them to remember.

At Spring/Break Art Show in New York City, Bianca J. Abdi-Boragi’s installation does both. Presented under the exhibition theme “Lost Paradise,” her immersive body of work explores migration, displacement, family history, and the invisible threads that connect generations across continents and time.

The installation immediately draws visitors into a world built from personal memory and symbolic objects. Sand-coated suitcases hang on the wall like relics from a journey. Bronze sculptures merge North African fruits with vintage telephones. A video performance unfolds nearby, creating a conversation between physical distance and emotional connection.

Together, the works form a poetic reflection on what remains with us when we leave home and what parts of ourselves are left behind.

At the center of the installation are sculptural suitcases coated in sand and mounted like pieces of furniture. Opened to reveal hidden interiors, they function almost like memory boxes.

Inside, visitors encounter sand paintings depicting landscapes and images that feel both familiar and fragile. Fig trees, poppy fields, and scenes from Algeria emerge like fading recollections, resembling photographs slowly dissolving with time. The imagery evokes the way memories of place can remain vivid while simultaneously becoming distant.

One of the most moving elements within the installation is a family photograph.

The image shows Abdi-Boragi and her mother when she was a baby. For decades, the photograph hung in her family home. Today, it has been transformed into an artwork that anchors the entire exhibition.

The significance of the image has evolved over time.

Now a mother herself, Abdi-Boragi sees the photograph differently than she did in previous years. Looking at it through the lens of parenthood, she recognizes the tenderness, joy, and connection captured in that moment. The image becomes more than a family portrait. It becomes a symbol of continuity, inheritance, and the emotional bonds that survive distance and change.

That relationship extends into the bronze sculptures displayed alongside it.

One sculpture depicts a lemon split into two halves. One side contains a speaker, the other a receiver from a vintage telephone. Another transforms an old-fashioned phone into a fruit-like object, replacing its traditional components with lemon slices connected by a leaf.

These surreal hybrids feel playful at first glance, but their symbolism runs deep.

The fruit references North African culture and the landscapes of Algeria, where Abdi-Boragi’s mother was born. The telephone evokes communication across distance, conversations between continents, and the emotional necessity of staying connected to loved ones despite physical separation.

Together, they become metaphors for family relationships, cultural inheritance, and the ongoing dialogue between generations.

Communication is a recurring theme throughout the exhibition.

Old pay phones appear repeatedly, transformed through unexpected combinations with fruit and natural forms. The sculptures suggest that connection is not only technological but also emotional and cultural. The objects we inherit, the foods we remember, and the voices we hear all become part of the ways we remain connected to home.

Material choice plays an important role as well.

The sculptures are cast in bronze, one of history’s most enduring and prestigious sculptural materials. Their substantial weight contrasts with the fragility of memory itself. While recollections may fade, these objects preserve stories in physical form, giving permanence to experiences that might otherwise disappear.

The installation’s origin can be traced back to one object: a suitcase sculpted from sand.

The piece emerged from Abdi-Boragi’s ongoing exploration of migration and displacement. A suitcase naturally represents movement, transition, and travel, but by constructing it from sand, she introduces a powerful contradiction.

A suitcase is meant to protect and preserve.

Sand is temporary, fragile, and constantly shifting.

The resulting sculpture asks profound questions: What do we carry when we migrate? What can we actually bring with us? And perhaps more importantly, what parts of ourselves inevitably remain behind?

The back of the sand suitcase appears to collapse and dissolve, reinforcing the notion that identity is never entirely transportable. Something is always lost. Something is always transformed.

These ideas continue in the accompanying video performance.

In the work, Abdi-Boragi herself emerges from the ocean completely dry while listening to a shell held against her ear.

The imagery is striking and intentionally paradoxical.

Water often symbolizes transition, migration, danger, and rebirth. Yet the artist emerges untouched, suggesting resilience and dignity despite the challenges of crossing borders, territories, and personal thresholds. The shell functions almost like a natural telephone, echoing the communication motifs found throughout the installation.

Listening becomes a central act.

Listening to family.

Listening to memory.

Listening to history.

Listening to oneself.

The exhibition demonstrates Abdi-Boragi’s ability to transform personal experiences into universally resonant narratives. Although rooted in her own family history and cultural heritage, the work speaks to anyone who has experienced migration, distance, longing, or the desire to maintain connections across generations.

It is both deeply intimate and remarkably accessible.

Remarkably, much of the installation was created in only a few weeks leading up to the fair. Inspired by the theme of “Lost Paradise,” Abdi-Boragi immersed herself completely in the project, working relentlessly to bring the vision to life.

The result is one of the fair’s most emotionally layered presentations.

Through sculpture, installation, photography, and performance, she invites viewers to consider the objects, memories, and relationships they carry with them through life. In doing so, she reminds us that home is rarely a fixed location. Often, it exists within the stories, people, and fragments of memory we continue to hold close.

With a major exhibition announcement expected later this year, Abdi-Boragi’s exploration of identity, migration, and belonging appears poised to reach even wider audiences. If this presentation at Spring/Break is any indication, her work will continue creating meaningful conversations about the complexities of memory and the enduring power of connection.

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