matriarchive

matriarchive is a multimedia installation exploring Li Rosenberg’s maternal lineage and cultural upbringing. Raised in Wisconsin, where less than 1% of the population is Chinese, he saw San Francisco—his mother’s birthplace and home to his Po Po (grandmother)—as a second home for understanding his roots. Yet, during the two weeks a year he would visit his Po Po’s house in the Inner Richmond, San Francisco’s ‘Second Chinatown,’ he always felt like an outsider in a familiarly foreign place.

In 2023, Li Rosenberg moved to San Francisco. Many childhood landmarks, like dim sum restaurants he once visited, had vanished post-COVID, now boarded up with graffiti-adorned plywood. Meanwhile, his 91-year-old Po Po’s health declined, and he became one of her primary caregivers. This experience deeply shaped matriarchive, a site-specific installation honoring the Chinese matriarchs who have defined his sense of home and identity.

Using archival documents, family stories, video, photography, and textiles, matriarchive serves as both a space for reflection, resilience, and return.