worm

WORM is a project from UCLA Creative Labs as part of the Winter 2020 cohort (Jan 2020 - Mar 2020). The project was intended to run over a 10 week timeline, but was cut short due to COVID-19.

I was recruited to this project along with eleven other UCLA students to create individual artwork. Our art pieces were meant to contribute towards a website anthology of different representations and interpretations of what it means to be faceless.

Individuality and self-expression against community and cultural norms revolving toxic masculinity, hyper-masculinity, and perceptions of femininity

Look At Me — Individuality and self-expression against community and cultural norms revolving toxic masculinity, hyper-masculinity, and perceptions of femininity

“saving face” and “losing face”

In conceptualizing the project and how I wanted to represent the concept "faceless," I was interested in how I might be able to explore the concept "saving face" and "losing face" across different cultural contexts. As an Asian American and second-generation American-born-Chinese, I have come to realize the significance of "face" in many Asian family dynamics, including within my own.

I conceptualized this project with the hopes of learning about the experiences of my peers from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. These illustrations represent experiences and personal stories that were drawn from conversations in a series of interviews with my peers. I created a set of illustrations designed to mimic music album cover art. The associated "track names" are also inspired by quotes and anecdotes from my interviews.

My goal for this project was to represent the concept of "face" across different cultures, translate these expressed ideas and experiences through a form of art, and empower those who choose to express themselves differently and against cultural and social norms.

88 Lucid Nightmares — Resulted toxicity in expectations for self-reliance in the Asian American community, as an effort to save face and preserve dignity in both personal and family reputations.

Shared pains and traumas across cultures births empowerment and solidarity.

In developing this project, I found beauty and power in shared experiences. Solidarity can be represented in many shapes and forms. And perhaps one of the strongest forms of solidarity are the unspoken understandings and bonds over shared pains and traumas. In the same way that we experience solidarity in difficult experiences, we also share joy and celebration over challenges we overcome as a community. It is powerful knowing that we were never truly alone in our efforts and our struggles, and that perhaps the human condition is an experience that is shared and understood, transcending even geographical and language barriers.