artist statement
info
My work pays tribute to the traditional and historical function of printmaking, particularly woodcuts. Political and democratic by nature of its medium, woodcuts’ strong graphic qualities, ability to make multiple images, and folk art heritage places it at the forefront of many political and commercial campaigns. The further I explore and experiment with innovative applications the more potential I see in the medium to deliver the content of my artwork. My current body of work is mainly inspired by a Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowship on contemporary Chinese art, which funded a seven month long trip in China. The work is a personal examination of my own identity within the current wave of multiculturalism. It questions the role and power of economic influences in guiding our perception of culture in the United States. Employing printmaking’s graphic quality, I fill my pieces with Chinese ornamental design, an approach that transcends language barriers and superficially gives the images an ethnicity and thereby a “cultured,” elevated commercial value. As a woman of color, the work explores my ability and right to push the boundaries of cultural representation, constantly walking the fine line between appropriation and symbolic violence. Exploring the mediums ability to make multiple images, I effectively transform my iconography, which is derived from my family, travels, and experiences as a person of color in the United States, into a mass-produced product. In other words, printmaking allows me to commercially exploit my own cultural identity in order to directly confront dominant society’s cultural fetishism; the imposition of exotic “otherness”; and the exploitation and commodification of culture.
questions/comments:
artist@iminyeh.com