In 1998 I began an aesthetic investigation around
culture and feminist identity, which was fueled by
personal and academic inquiry. The resulting works,
which include large-scale multi-paneled paintings,
installations, CAD drawings, and video projections,
investigate the mass consumption and commod-
ification of Asian culture in our country. They
explore the nature of identity as an imposed
character, and my conflict as an Asian American
woman — an exoticized, desired object. I have
mined myself as source material, juxtaposed
elements of identity, and integrated imagery from
multiple and divergent sources. I have appropriated
and manipulated ethnic images from gift cards,
t-shirts, wrapping paper, and instructional gimcrack.
In addition, I have drawn from traditional Chinese
textile design, European wallpaper patterns, and
match book covers, and intertwined them with
visual icons located in my experience of growing up
in Orange County, California.

By exaggerating the pop sensibility, I suggest value
is derived only from marketability and foreignness.
The process of this valuation makes no considera-
tion for any historical, cultural, or personal signifi-
cance. These populist icons serve as metaphors for
my own sense of self, my value in society, and
even my perceived identity as imposed by a market
driven culture. With the goal of creating an entrée
through the integration of images, identities, and
surfaces, my intention is to engage the viewer in
the complexities of meaning layered within the
work.