Hijacking East Asian Stereotypes
In western representation, the East Asian stereotype is associated with a group of tags that contradict one another, as it can be dangerous and obedient, slutty and sexless at the same time. I collect images from the mass media which portray such stereotype with corresponding tags. The images are overpainted with rice, the staple food that fuels the East Asian body and serves as the dominant symbol for the East Asian identity, and re-photographed. The approach intends to explore rice’s potential as graphic material and metaphorical device, hijacking the stereotyped East Asian figures in the images to question, challenge and reconstruct.
In western representation, the East Asian stereotype is associated with a group of tags that contradict one another, as it can be dangerous and obedient, slutty and sexless at the same time. I collect images from the mass media which portray such stereotype with corresponding tags. The images are overpainted with rice, the staple food that fuels the East Asian body and serves as the dominant symbol for the East Asian identity, and re-photographed. The approach intends to explore rice’s potential as graphic material and metaphorical device, hijacking the stereotyped East Asian figures in the images to question, challenge and reconstruct.
