A Visual Essay

 

Going into this project I knew I wanted to explore the relationship between erotism and exotism and how asian women are fetishsized within western societies. I’ve been delving into subjects that are more personally relevant and this project was initially inspired by my recent encounters with men that have objectified me and sexualised my characteristics based on my ethnic appearances. Although this is something that happens throughout my life, these past couple instances had unsettled me and raised a multitude of questions that have remained up until that point, unacknowledged. Why are asian women specifically sexualised especially in western culture? Why is the fetishsization of asian women so widely accepted within society and the media?  

 

Using these questions as a basis, my initial research looked into the terms : orientalism, yellow fever and white fever. Attached is a point form pdf of the research. Through my research I want to present a personal reflection of the multiplexity and conflict that resides within the history of orientalism and it’s consequences.

 

When conceptualizing my first iteration, it became evident that narrative would be the key component to my work. ‘Where are you from’ is symbolic of the occident (western) view of anything that is deemed oriental, written in the ‘asiatic’ vertical format it in itself references the colonial appropriation of culture. The ‘from’ is empty and the question has no question mark because in reality, my and other asians ethnic identity are already predetermined by assumptions and stereotypes. My oversaturated hand cups the word ‘from’ and the black hair reinforces these stereotypes. Attached is a pdf of my original iterations.

 

In my final piece I reference traditional chinese and japanese scrolls through the format of my print and the use of the classic mountain landscape painting as a visual structure to create a narrative around. The scroll reads from top to bottom and as you read downwards each ‘mountain’ is a symbol of the consequence, motive or causality. The hand with the text is the consequence as explained above in the first iteration, the mound of silk represents the motives of european colonization of the ‘orient’ and the geisha represents the causality in which asian women become viewed as objects and therefore oppressed into the mold of a subservient china doll or geisha. The strips of nudity throughout the piece were sourced from either asian pornos or adult images of asian women and it’s form again references asian vertical typography. As I chose to include the question mark in the final iteration, these strips serve as answers to the question ‘where are you from’, linking the piece and the idea that asian women are sexualized as a result of colonialism. The transition of colours from light to dark flows with the mood and the colours, or lack of, are used to emphasize desolation and oppression.

 

Throughout the process I was greatly inspired by Tandanori Yokoo, a japanese graphic designer famous for his poster art that critiqued and referenced a multitude of sensitive subjects within Japanese society at that time. His use of colour combined with his resolve for social commentary was refreshing and was my main inspiration for how I approached creating the print.