Jean Shin Creates Her Own Anti-War Camouflage

Jean Shin's latest installation at the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) in Sunset Park, titled Tidal Crossing, challenges the role of military camouflage. The artist presents three sets of military-style nets hung inside one of the terminal's skybridges. Between each net, she has added camo banners adorned with images of flora from locations where the United States has engaged in warfare.

Tidal Crossing is the concluding piece of In Plain Sight, a year-long public exhibition showcasing works by 12 Brooklyn-based artists at BAT and the nearby Brooklyn Wholesale Meat Market.

The installation harmonizes with the complex's history, having once been the largest military supply base in the US. The contrasting green, blue, and sandy camo patterns against the industrial surroundings highlight the installation's provocative themes. These themes resonate with the immigrant communities of Sunset Park, prompting questions about belonging in unfamiliar environments.

These environments could encompass the covert military missions, the transportation of native plants to new lands, or the forced displacement of communities affected by war.

Shin's Tidal Crossing raises the question, "Who belongs here?" She shared with Hyperallergic, "What is foreign at one point is actually really familiar." The installation features banners with distinct environmental themes, each bearing a military pattern dating back to World War II, such as the "Frogskin" design used in the Pacific War and the "Chocolate Chip" pattern employed in the Gulf War.

More recently, the U.S. adopted a "Digital Camo" design, a QR-code-like pattern used to evade online detection systems in Afghanistan and Iraq.