Second Generation I Painting

Second Generation is triptych of 3 oil paintings examining my diasporic struggle with cultural identity. By using so-called Western painting techniques, like trompe-l’oeil and classical naturalism, I falsely mimic the traditional pen and ink of Chinese landscapes or the look of vases. The self-appropriation translates the culture of one visual medium to another. The same transferences occur by painting the printed photographs. As a metaphor for generational displacement, the Chinese objects and photos sit atop a kitschy wallpaper. In a hybrid space of different cultures, the objects are transformed in form and in meaning. The art objects that were supposed to instill a sense of belonging in me failed as they are re-situated in a new context. In an attempt to pass on a legacy, my family has struggled to reproduce culture for me. Through the generations, information has been relocated, distorted, broken and blurred out. What does cultural reproduction alter at every repetition? What is lost or gained, when passed from one person’s experience to another? The objects in the picture never change, but the wall from which it hangs does. We may not judge all images simply from their content, but their background as well. My work is not about my "roots", my "origins", nor my past. This is what I live now.

Painting:Oil on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:36 W x 36 H x 2 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.