Eagle

NameAnimal

Artist Djan Shun Lin

Dateca. 1994

Place madeYork County Prison, Pennsylvania, United States, North America

MediumPaper, paint

Dimensionsoverall: 80.2 cm H x 84.0 cm L x 77.0 cm W

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, IFAF Collection, FA.1995.3.1

Object numberFA.1995.3.1

DescriptionFolded-paper eagle stands with wings raised, beak open as if screaching. Body painted white, feet and beak yellow, black talons. Wings, mid-body, tail covered with folded paper pieces, pointed side up, cut from magazines: tail is mostly white.

Made by a Chinese refugee who was aboard the ship Golden Venture, which ran aground in New York in 1993. Some of the refugees were detained for nearly four years, including at the York County Prison in Pennsylvania, where some made folded-paper sculptures, as gifts for their pro bono lawyers or to pass the time while in prison. These paper sculptures made from recycled magazine pages demonstrate a paperworking tradition found in prisons and also document the life of refugees.