This installation was done in a gallery measuring approximately 30 feet by 50 feet (10 by 16 meters) at the University of Iowa in December 2007. The thesis messages of cultural conflict and women’s issues are reinforced by each individual piece, and by the common forms and materials. This installation uses 200,000 colored pins to show how beautiful things can be, but how there is often hidden pain associated with beauty. (This hidden pain is very much a part of the han tradition.) All of the parts of the exhibition are hand sewn and constructed because I believe that the art is not just what you see, but it is also the effort and work of the artist as it is constructed.
The use of primary colors is important—especially since Asian traditions and Western traditions attach different conflicting meanings to color. White is the color of innocence and purity in the Western tradition but it is the color of death in Asia. Red is often associated with the erotic and the decadent in Western culture, but it is often used for weddings and joy in Asia. |
