As a Chinese artist living in America, I am interested in a cultural phenomenon which I define as “cultural grafting.” It is the transplant of false cultural norms onto another culture. My most recent work explores industrially produced items that are assumed to be Chinese but are actually American-made interpretations of a misrepresented culture. Examples of this are found in American- Chinese food as General Tso’s Chicken and fortune cookies, as well as takeout containers.

 

I use ceramics as a medium to comment on how Western cultures have imitated Chinese traditional decorative art for many centuries. Even to this day modern Chinese immigrants use their traditional culture to attract Western society. My work is a form of contemporary “chinoserie” used to bring attention to this historical and cultural phenomenon.