I’m Just A Girl (2024)
This series of works is titled, “I’m Just A Girl,” revering the battles and triumphs of the exploration of femininity within girlhood, in conversation with the underestimating and devaluing of femininity and arts deemed “domestic” or “craft”. Through the use of repetitive sewing, beadwork, and quilt work I reference the tedious and time-consuming unseen labor of women’s work. The subject explores my personal journey through coming to appreciate femininity throughout my adolescent and adult life through fashion and film. Whilst a celebration of the joys of the divine feminine, this series also recollects feminine issues such as objectification/sexualization, beauty standards, and consumerism.
Vicki Myhren Gallery, Retrospection
American Born Chinese
60in L x 30 in w x 30 in h
2023-24
steel sheet metal, enamel paint, recycled fabric
“ABC,” is a derogatory term used in East Asia denoting “American Born Chinese,” as different and lesser than those born in the mainland. By spelling ABC in the dumplings my grandfather taught me to make, I recollect a history of family dumpling making which is a tradition universal in Chinese culture. The fabrics filling the dumplings are fabrics made in China but distributed in America, recalling that in the inside they are as completely Chinese as any other.
Girl, In Progress
2002-2024
film in monitor, cardboard, recycled fabric, rhinestones
The title, “Girl, In Progress,” is a subversion to my favorite movie growing up, “Girl, Interrupted”. In this compilation of the films I’ve made from ages 6-22, encapsulated in a sculpture of the very first camera my parents ever bought me, I recollect how I’ve developed as a filmmaker and as a woman. This piece is a culmination of the highs and lows of womanhood, the friendships, the laughs, the insecurities, and great tragedies, in a constant back to back whirlwind of childhood flying by.
Playing Girly
2023-24
36 in w x 48 in h
canvas, acrylic paint, recycled fabric and beads
This piece is a depiction of my childhood from ages 5–10. My bedroom vanity, covered in lipstick kisses, is a representation of the exploration of the “girly” and the desire to be a woman which is instilled at a young age. It’s playful and joyous, but also has an underlying layer of confusing sexuality and the perception of the male gaze.
Picking Scabs
2023-24
36 in w x 48 in h
canvas, acrylic paint, recycled book, fabric, and beads
This piece is representative of middle school and high school for me, a time of all consuming body dysmorphia instigated by media representation of the “perfect” woman. I collaged the edition of “What Not To Wear,” from the year 2002, the year I was born, to examine the toxic beauty standards set in place that would affect my entire life. Each chapter of the book examines each body part a woman could have, and could therefore be a flaw. In examining the images of all the “worst” things to wear, the two women are seen put against each other grimacing in disapproval, with blatantly insulting captions. The two bleeding vaginas reference how women share a period, share the same adversities, and are still pit against each other, creating a culture of putting one another down.
Praising Quanyin
2024
36 in w x 48 in h
canvas, oil paint, magazine collage, screen-printing, recycled fabric and acrylic and crystal beads
In college, I explored spirituality and exploration of the divine feminine. In my own rendition of the Buddhist Goddess Quanyin, I depict her combining inspiration from traditional depictions with Vogue magazine covers, as a contemporary idol. Quanyin as “Vixen,” is a representation of dismantling the whore-Madonna complex found in Chinese artwork depicting women, especially Quanyin who is treated often like a “Virgin Mary”. Within the “Vixen,” text collage there are traditional representations of Quanyin, as well as domestic and sexualized representations of women in East Asian art. The color palette of the blues and pinks merging together recollects Quanyin’s complex history with gender, as being the first female Buddha, as well as an androgynous icon and trans/fem. The ultimate beacon of the compassion of woman, she stands tall and confident, giving herself and her compassion fully to the world from both ends, looking strained yet somehow making it look easy. She is revered for both her beauty and her wisdom, decorated in ornate jewelry, with her poetry interwoven into her underskirt. The jewelry has rose quartz, aventurine, and rhodonite stones, symbols of love, compassion, and inner harmony.
Toxic
10 in Lx 14 in wide x 35 in h
2024
recycled cigarette boxes, cardboard, photo collage, acrylic paint
The title of this work, “Toxic,” is a reference to the toxic nature of addiction, as well as the bittersweet found in media surrounding smoking. In this cigarette box sculpture, the use of recycled-cigarette boxes tiled across the sculpture mimics the time consuming and repetitive nature of habitual smoking, as well as the mass production, advertising, and media containing cigarette smoking. The dragon is a symbol of the fierce and glamorous image projected in the media surrounding women and smoking. The upper collage of portraits contains photos of American actresses and cultural icons smoking cigarettes, including: Marylin Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Bridgette Bardot, Uma Thurman, Angelina Jolie, Winona Ryder, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Lindsay Lohan, and Avril Lavigne.
What, like it’s Hard?
36 in width x 24 in H, 30 in x 35 in
2023-24
recycled fabric, sewing, screen-printing, cardboard, lightbox with USB plug
“What, like it’s Hard?”, a quote from Legally Blonde, in this case referencing the underestimation of the difficulty behind sewing laborers in factories across the world, and specifically within China. The tabs on the screen depict Shein’s claims on how they’ll change their lack of working ethics after being exposed in a documentary, right next to their suppliers code of conduct detailing their poor work ethics. The advertisements reference designs stolen from independent designers by shein, and the many social media influencers who contribute to the popularity of shein through their advertising, and the popularization of “try-on hauls”. The dress is equally sized to the Chinese Big Mac ad, referencing how because they are paid on commission, per each $5 dress a worker can only afford a hamburger. This piece comments on the emergence of online shopping, fast-fashion, and ethical consumerism.
Branch, Bud, Blossom, Bloom
31in L x 31 in w x 50 in h
2023-24
wire and metal armature, puck lights, screen-printing, sewing, recycled fabric, beads, and frames
This literal family tree has the names and photographs of my many family members printed on the bark and leaves, as a representation of how while each member is distinct and unique, we are all interconnected. The framed photographs emerging into the walls, reflects on the use of family photo walls in the home as recorder of personal history.
Mother: Giver, Crafter, Documenter of History
24 in w x 32 in h
2024
sewing, photo transfer on fabric, recycled women’s underwear, fabric, hardboard, beads, and ribbon
When I was a kid I used to tease my mom for being a scrapbook and photo fiend. She constantly rebutted that she was documenting history, something I wouldn’t come to appreciate until many years later. Through the accumulation of photographs of mother figures in my family, through their mothers passing them down each generation, this piece recollects Mothers as the documenters of family history, and givers of life. The use of sewing, quilting, and beading, recollects the many “domestic” crafts which take time and care and are often dismissed. As an homage to honor these personal icons, each of their favorite flowers are collaged into their pages, along with acknowledgements to the many wisdoms which they have passed down to me.