42nd Street (F10) depicts the moon goddess in Chinese mythology ascending from the Times Square subway station, delivering wishes for unity and kindness to the city.
Atlanta: Dream Interrupted (F11) commemorates the Atlanta massage parlor massacre on March 16, 2021, that killed eight people, including six Asian females from thirty-three to seventy-four years old. The painting creates a visual metaphor inspired by The Peony Pavilion, a classic Chinese opera, reinterpreting the story in which the lady’s dream is interrupted by falling petals, symbolizing the victims’ lives and their American dreams shattered by bloodshed.
No Escape on the 40th Road (F12) depicts the story of a sex worker falling to her death from the balcony during a police raid in Flushing, NY. In the painting, her soul revisits the balcony, watching her life story unfolding through the papercuts patterns on the window.
Wedding of Death (F13) is dedicated to Vincent Chin, an Asian American man brutally killed forty years ago on the street of Detroit before his wedding. The painting imagines the bride in a traditional Chinese wedding costume, weeping over the tombstone of her beloved Vincent.
An imitation of The Statue of Liberty, the Statue of Immigration (F14) visualizes the painful experience of long-term family separation during the immigration process. The painting features Lady White, one of the most popular characters in Chinese folktales, who holds her baby and waves farewell to her departing husband. The Chinese characters engraved throughout her body are the most frequently used words in letters between Chinese immigrant family members: remembrance, waiting, hope, endurance, pain…
The 7 Train (F15) reinterprets an iconic scene in The Peony Pavilion, a classic Chinese opera, to depict Asian immigrants’ fear in everyday life that has been overshadowed by Asian-hate sentiment and violence.
Expulsion (F16) combines images of an ancient Chinese tale, The Repatriation of Lady Wen, with a biblical story – The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, to reflect the Asian hate sentiment throughout American history.
The Asian American Mythology uses old stories to heal new wounds for the Asian American and immigrant community. Through characters in East Asian folktales, the painting series metaphorically reflects Asian-hate sentiment in both American history and the post-Covid-19 pandemic era.
Exhibitions
Remember, Flushing Town Hall. 01/27/2024 – 02/18/2024 https://www.flushingtownhall.org/event-detail.php?id=560
Press
The exhibition Remember is highlighted by the Hyperallergic.
Interview by BronxNet TV
Westbeth Gallery, NY (information coming soon)
Acknowledgement
Asian American Mythology painting series receives funding support from the New York State Council on the Arts and is fiscally sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts in fiscal year 2024.