Like Any Other is a series of interpretative Korean textiles that comments on the objectification of Asiatic female bodies and resists the notion of reductive, easily legible identities. The work is created in the format of Korean object-wrapping cloth called bojagi to consider ideas such as tradition, craft, and feminized labor. The paintings with various ruptures explore the disruptive experience of othering. Textiles are activated in relation to the frame, which become metaphors for framing and societal expectations for the authentic. Color gradients that turn to white comments on the act of erasure and whitewashing. Banners with safety pins consider notions about safety, activism, allyship, power, and privilege. Further, patterns that are perceived as Korean and patterns from contemporary sociopolitical events are embedded into the textiles to challenge the idea of authenticity. The work is not simply a representation of minority identities, but rather a commentary on the dehumanizing, problematic process of being identified, reduced, and categorized. The project shifts the focus from the search for authentic origins and clear categories to the uncertainties of translation and the complexities of constructing identities within the context of cultural hybridity, intersectionality, and the collective struggle for social justice.
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