aTemporal
Memoir to Adoption
Guardian Vessels East and West
Jars are used for storage. However, they also encase, obscure, and protect whatever is placed within them. These two large sculptural jars symbolically hold my memories of China–the memories that I stare blindingly at through the lanterns. What little I can grasp, I store within these huge vessels. These memories may not all be pleasant, but they are all that I have left of my time in China. I protect these delicate memories so that I may cherish them throughout my life.
Half-Truths
In conjunction with the guardian vessels and the lanterns, these cups complete the setting of a home-like place for people to rest and reflect. The cups utilize the same patterns as the lanterns, and for me they act as another way to reflect upon and further my understanding of my own heritage. Like the lanterns, there is no clear viewpoint through or even at the windows. Through the process of trying to look in, I encounter fetishized, “oriental” iconography that obscures the view. These symbols (such as those over the lantern patterns on the cups) result in a false idealized understanding about the culture based on half-truths and external perspectives.
Blinding Retrospective
These lanterns are heavily inspired by Chinese windows. The alteration and usage of the window structure in a lantern is symbolic of how I interpret my Chinese heritage. As a trans-racial adoptee to a Caucasian mother, I am not granted the same access to my Chinese pedagogy as those with Chinese parents have. I am an outsider trying to look in; however, there is a blinding light that obscures my sight. I may be able to thoroughly learn and educate myself on my Chinese culture, but there will always be an innate belonging that I will lack. Even through all of that, some bright memories do shine through–memories of my adoption and my new life. They are not entirely Chinese, not entirely American, but somewhere in between.
This was a group exhibition with the 2021-22 Fifth-Year Emerging Artist and Carleton College’s Educational Associates.
Devin Cuneen , Marcel Hones, Megan Vikla, and Ari Zuaro.