Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting

liane chan

wife is like fine china

sculptural installation featuring hand embroidery and beadwork on a silk wedding veil.With over 500 hours of needle work, the intensive Labour of embroidery and beadwork calls attention to the social inequalities and power dynamics presented within the Canadian Labour market, with Chinese immigrant women having to shift into career paths that are racialized and gendered. The veil is placed atop a straight and long black wig, consisting of synthetic hair and small portions of my own hair, I signal both racial and gender identity markers through colour and length/cut in reference to Asian representation within entertainment media. This work is particularly build upon silk organza from my mother, and cotton thread from my maternal grandmother. Collectively, these materials emphasize the roles of Mother and Wife; By creating the “Wife,” I place myself in the role of “Mother.” Playing on the trope of self-sacrifice and suffering of Chinese Women, this work touches on the irony of creating a bridal veil for an Object which can never be wed; despite all my hard-work or how exquisite the product of Labour is, my Labour is futile as it ends without marriage. Thus begins the process of “Object feminization” reflexivity - my futile Labour becomes the feminized Object, which I then identify with.