Up to the Elephant, Down to the Dog is an installation-performance hybrid exhibit exploring the intergenerational effects of displacement from the Vietnam War. This piece centers on a recorded conversation between Professor Nam Kim, an anthropology professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and his mother, who were welcomed into the United States through Operation New Life.

Up to the Elephant, Down to the Dog is site-specific to Madison, touching on the UW-Madison’s history of current and past tensions with anti-war student protests. By foregrounding the individuals who lived through the trauma of war against the backdrop of UW–Madison’s anti-war student movement, the piece confronts the American empire’s ongoing role in shaping lives on the global stage. At the same time, it recognizes the complicated legacies of that history: many former refugees also feel profound gratitude for the refuge they received from the United States.

This multiplicity of perspectives—marked by both critique and appreciation—underscores the complexity of how war, migration, and empire are remembered and lived across generations. Presented on the fiftieth anniversary of the war’s end, this exhibition centers the hidden labor of mothers and carers who rebuild homes in the wake of violence. Shown within a synagogue, the work echoes diasporic histories while also insisting we notice how American involvement continues to fracture homes elsewhere. 

This exhibition is a collaboration between the artist BLUE NAGA under the consultation of Professor Nam Kim and the generous sharing of his family’s history.