Exhibition “Obsession”
2018
Venue: Antenna gallery, New Orleans, LA
Dates: November 10th - December 2nd, 2018
Concept: As I get older, I feel more and more pressure from those around me to have a child. Most of my friends from childhood are married and moving on to their next stage of life. But here I am, still single, with no marriage plans in sight. I also feel that my parents want to see grandchildren soon. Even though they have never directly mentioned the subject, I can still sense it. Despite my urgency to settle down, get married, and have children, it is still very far away. Because of my age, I feel as if I need to start preparing my body to bear children, even though I’m nowhere near ready. I still have so many things that I want to do and accomplish before having a child, but external pressure makes me feel as if I need to put those things aside, hurry up and become a mother.
This desire to have children feeds into my obsession with being a model Asian woman. To be a model Asian woman in the United States, I have to follow unrealistic standards and perform outside of my comfort zone. Since moving to the United States five years ago, I have encountered problems due to people’s preconceptions about Asian women. The worst of these misconceptions generally come from American men, who believe that Asian women are innately passive, "easy", submissive, and quiet. The stereotypes of Asian women make it difficult for me to build healthy relationships. I feel the impact of being a minority much more in America, where assumptions about Asian women are both superficial and hurtful.
This show is about my obsession toward being a model Asian woman. Through my art, I want to express the reality of life as an Asian woman in the United States. I challenge the tradition of the “silent Asian woman” to reveal the complexities that lie underneath the guise of the superficial dream of being a model.
