Growing up Chinese-American has been a defining experience. In the states, I'll always appear a "foreigner," repeatedly harboring questions of "where are you FROM?" despite my "surprisingly fluent" English. Visiting family in China, I still don't quite fit in. I am too tan, too built, too casually dressed to be a Chinese girl. My Mandarin is sloppy and broken.
The result is feeling like a specimen, always being cross-analyzed, confined and boxed in by my cultural background. I feel expectations and traditions projected onto me, and a barrier separating me from a larger world of possibility.
Born in the year 2000, my Chinese zodiac animal is a dragon, traditionally considered one of the most powerful and lucky animals. Being a “dragon girl” meant having the perfect mix of fluidity, beauty, and wisdom. This design was created to represent that image I had to live up to.
-Around the sides are an inscribed character, the symbol for my last name and heritage.
-In the middle are a cloud design, representing lofty dreams
-On the very outer edge is a straw design, representing the ability to stay grounded and disciplined
My original plan was to project the image onto a plexiglass box, thus creating a kind of “ghost” reflection look– but it didn’t feel personal enough.
To me, the piece did not feel powerful and emotional until I sat inside the box, allowing the image to be projected onto me.