I use Chinese exports- silk, tea and porcelain primarily in my work to address the complex relationship between consumerism, colonization and cultural hybridity, as they originated in the East and were popularized in the West through trading and British colonization. I consider these materials being a part of my identity, given that I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I name each hybrid object with a verb and a Chinese character to hint at the Chinese computer input system Sucheng, the bilingual education I grew up in, as well as to show the interactions of the materials. The use of mixed materials and their interactions are symbols to represent the relationship between the two cultures. By making hybrid objects with these specific materials, I see my work as a way to create a visual manifestation of the hybridity in my identity and in my language.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Cindy Leung is an artist from Hong Kong and is based in Kansas City, Missouri. She holds an MFA from University of Florida and a BFA from Queens College, CUNY. She exhibited nationally and internationally in China, New York, California, Florida, Washington and more. Leung is a faculty at Kansas City Kansas Community College and an Artist-In-Residence at Belger Crane Yard Studios.