Selected Hauntings is a series of embroidered textile panels hung as a labyrinthine installation. Each one contains words and sentiments that have haunted me in ambiguously positive and negative ways in relation to the failure to fulfill racialized and gendered expectations as a queer Cantonese person. The challenges of diasporic identity and language have been ongoing struggles within second and third generations of migrant settler families. The hauntings include both internal and external voices, caught between the hetero-patriarchal ideals of self-imposed respectability politics and the white hegemony of so-called Canada.
The installation’s materiality is also a negotiation between the anxiety of self-orientalism and acceptance. As ink brush scroll paintings and silk brocade are easily fetishized and stereotyped, the traditional format is kept without the typically colourful accents. The gray tones and sheer texture are used as tools to deny the white gaze an essentialized and palatable form of content.
The juxtaposed panels create a narrative demonstrate the relationships between seemingly isolated feelings. By connecting them to larger social and historical ideas, they allude to the ways in which the violence of unspoken trauma and displacement creep into our lives. The installation reveals insecurities and fears we may only want to discuss within our own communities. I hope this may serve as an opening to bring the vulnerability of these pieces into our day-to-day conversations.
Selected Hauntings
Installation at the Varley Art Gallery, for the exhibition titled “Elusive Desires,” curated by Marissa Largo. 2021
Selected Hauntings, part 1
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
83” x 28”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 2
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
83” x 28”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 3
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
83” x 25”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 8
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
83” x 28”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 4
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
83” x 28”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 7
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
75” x 25”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 5
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
83” x 25”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 6
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
83” x 28”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 9
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
60” x 25”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 10
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
83” x 28”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 11
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
70” x 25”
2018
Selected Hauntings, part 12
Embroidered organza on wooden dowel,
75” x 24”
2018
Whitewashed
Vinyl on dry cleaning bag with cloth
48” x 30”
This installation was made in 2018
Private Displays of Affection (series)
Lipstick on cardstock
each 3” x 5”
2018
Private Displays of Affection (detail)
Private Displays of Affection (detail)
gentle reminders from your grandmother to destroy your enemies and kill your rapists (part 1)
gentle reminders from your grandmother to destroy your enemies and kill your rapists (part 2 & 3)
Installation of embroidered found objects inside a moving truck
2018
Riceface
Hand embroidery on organza
4 bags, each 22” x 13”
2018
