REPRESENT(ASIAN)
I started this project with the goal of exploring and learning more about my Asian heritage, and the stories of our diverse cultures. From interviewing my grandparents, who grew up in Taiwan at the dusk of World War II, to sharing my friend’s poetry about her struggle with her self-identity and Indian heritage, to examining how we face racism and stereotypes, I’ve learned so much about our community, history, and creative means for self-expression. Through this project, I hope to shed some light on our individual experiences and struggles, as well as various aspects of our cultures.
REFLECTION ON IDENTITY
my thoughts on how cultural identity has affected my creative journey and photography
People know of American photographers by the likes of Dorothea Lange, Steve McCurry, Robert Capa, and Philippe Halsman, among others. Typically, however, no one can name a well-known Asian-American photographer, and even Google-searching them comes up with maybe two or three links. I think the reason why is because, in my experience, there’s pressure— externally, by Asian stereotypes and people in society not believing in our creative abilities, and internally, either by family or by different expectations for our futures— to not pursue the arts.
Even more so, I think the fear of being categorized into that academics-obsessed, science-and-math-centered, negative Asian stereotype also subconsciously drove me towards the arts, and forced me to hone my skills at expressing my beliefs and emotions through creativity. If I’m being honest, I still love everything about school, science, and math—subjects that as an Asian-American, I'm expected to excel at— but I’ve found a true passion in art and photography, and I think it’s really allowed me to explore a part of me and my cultural identity that would otherwise be suppressed by society’s expectations.
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BOBA MILK TEA— THE WORLD'S NEWEST TREND MADE OF TAIWAN'S OLDEST TRADITIONAL INGREDIENTS
AKA my obsession since forever
Today, my family and I made our very own—homemade— boba milk tea for the first time! We mixed tapioca starch with just enough water to create a powdery dough-like substance, and began rolling it into 8mm balls, which we then boiled for about 15 minutes. To make the boba sweet, we soaked them in an ice bath, and then in a brown sugar-water mixture. Lastly, we brewed some black tea leaves, added milk and ice, and then poured our homemade boba in!
But maybe you’ve never heard of boba milk tea...It’s a Taiwanese drink first created in Tainan and Taichung in the 1980s, originally consisting of traditional black tea mixed with milk, and tapioca pearls (also known as "boba") sweetened with sugar or honey. Because of its popularity, boba tea has spread across the world, and as a result, many varieties, including an assortment of different teas, flavors, and toppings, have become popular as well. It’s a staple beverage in many households—Asian and non-Asian alike—and is consumed by many of my friends and family at a similar pace to coffee. In my opinion, boba tea has really become a symbol of our old Taiwanese traditions meeting modern society, and has helped us introduce the world to our little island ❤︎
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SOMETHING FISHY
reconnecting with seafood through Taiwanese cuisine
Last summer, when my Taiwanese relatives discovered I’m not the biggest fan of seafood, they wondered how I would survive the two-week trip. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, our island’s cuisine is based on seafood. Fish, such as tuna, grouper, crustaceans, squid, and cuttlefish, can be found at every eatery, from night-markets to high-end restaurants. Everywhere I looked and went, there was fish, fish...and more fish! I had the opportunity to shell a lobster, eat tiny fried fishes whole, watch chefs cook fresh seafood from the aquarium tanks right in front of me, and wander night-markets, breathing in the smells of oil mixed with saltwater and fish. Although my love of seafood is still limited to a few choice dishes—sushi, poke, and sashimi— for y’all seafood connoisseurs and fanatics, Taiwan is definitely the place to visit!
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FILM FROM FORMOSA
summer 2019, family reunion in taiwan
As a digital photographer, I've always found film to be quite daunting. The patience, the precision, the finite photographs per roll of film...On our last day, after picking up my negatives and prints from a small camera shop on the corner of one of Tainan's busy six-intersection streets, I found that the scenes captured in the graininess of the film were more evocative and personal than any of the photographs taken on my digital camera. I look forward to experimenting more with film in the future, but for now, enjoy these film photographs of Taiwan's raw natural beauty.
WHAT ANCESTRY DNA CAN'T TELL ME
a poem by poet Norah Rami on her rich cultural heritage and her struggle with this self identity
I was born after a day’s worth of labor
My screams drowning out the Beatles asking Prudence to play.
I wanted to be heard as soon as I left my mother’s womb
my throat testing the guttural calls of my ancestors
I was born with my heart beating to ancient drums
Bonfires burned in my bloodstream
that night we danced a dance no living man has seen
I was born to songs to the moon
prayers to the sun
blessed by goddesses in my cradle
whispering the lullabies
of my ancestors
and in the late of night
Kali came with her garland of heads
marking my third eye with blood
“You were born from a line of warriors baby girl
Don’t you dare forget it”
I was born to a tribe of nomads
on a field filled with the ghosts of my sisters
I was swaddled in tiger skins
My mother coming back from the hunt
My home was in her arms
The flowers were my friend
My playground was the earth
As I ran around the circumference of the world twice
My little feet caught in tickled by the grass tangled in the grass
I was born to run away
I was born to a legion of storytellers
Who spun stories like cloth
That they wore over their thin frames
Dreamers who live by the fountain
Singing of lands unknown
Piecing together the life they saw
Like a tapestry that will never be sold
I was born in a hut
fires whispering through the chimney
chained to the earth
rising with the sun
and my brothers and sisters
to farm our future
in the rice paddy fields
the sun beating
as melanin dropped from my brow
watering the next years harvest
I was born an empress,
Born a queen.
Diamonds for tears
And ruby’s for eyes.
Mother of my people,
Daughter of the world.
My crown was forged from promises.
My throne, built from those kept.
I was born to a hearth
And sacrificed to its flames,
Setting my soul on fire,
Sari burning as a reminder
That you can try to shut us in, shut us up,
But we will fight back.
Burning like a torch,
Burning down your kingdom of oppression.
I was born a child of revolution,
Protest flowing like a river through my veins.
You see, I was born screaming.
It was my cry’s that told them i was gonna make through the night,
And the next night,
And every other night.
it was the day they silenced me was
the day I the knew was gone.
I was born as my great grandmother
Held my grandfather, not yet a year old
Quieting his cries as they left the rubble of there city behind,
As the British drew a line through our heart, our home.
Where they saw land we saw people,
Where they saw fortune we saw families,
Where they saw money we saw blood.
Seeping into the earth,
Staining our ancestral home,
Flowers blooming on the unmarked graves of my mothers
Whom no one ever knew was born.
Bombs bled across the city
The day my grandparents married.
Fireworks in celebration of bloodshed,
Blackouts across the town,
But two beating hearts shined
On this backdrop of death.
My mother was raised across the sea from her ancestral home,
Never having known the land where her seeds were sown.
Speaking in broken tongues,
Yearning for a land where her toes had never touched the soil.
So when my daughter is born, screaming because she knows she needs to be heard.
Her voice telling a story centuries old.
Her heart beating with mine to
the same ancient song.
Our blood burning from the same flame.
I will lay her in her cradle,
Humming a silent song the goddesses once sang to me.
I will tell her she’s a nomad, a storyteller, a rice farmer, empress, freedom fighter,
Generations of sweat and blood all wrapped into one,
That she is everything and anything to me.
I’ll tuck her in and kiss her where her third eye would be,
Close the door quietly as I hear the steps of a visitor from long ago.
Linger in the threshold, my ear to the door
Hearing a familiar whisper I had heard long before.
You were born from a line of warriors baby girl,
Don’t you forget where you’ve been.
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INTERVIEW WITH CHAO SHIH
aka my grandfather ("Agong" in Taiwanese) and the strongest, smartest, and bravest person I know.
Where are you from in Taiwan?
I am from Tainan City, it’s in the southern part of the island. It’s a big city. My parents and brothers and sisters were also born in Tainan.
And how many siblings do you have?
Four siblings. My younger sister is in the United States, my older brother has already passed away. My youngest brother is still in Taiwan, he owns the family bakery. This was my grandfather’s business, which was passed on to my father, which was then passed on to my younger brother.
How was your childhood growing up in Tainan?
I was very busy. When I was done with school, I needed to help my father’s business. I need to carry the bakery goods to the store to sell and deliver. I was a delivery boy after school. When you are in elementary school, the day ends around 2. After 2 I did deliveries every day.
What was your favorite subject to study when you were little?
You see, when I was little, I was sick. I got a disease (mumps) and so my IQ developed very slowly. The only subject I could do was math. I couldn’t remember anything like history.
Did World War II and Japanese occupation of the island affect your childhood at all?
During World War II they bombed my house; it was next to a Japanese military commander’s headquarters. The United States bombed the headquarters and then bombed my house and the whole street. Then we needed to move to the countryside. My father was forced to serve in the Japanese military service, so my mother and me and my siblings moved to the countryside. We walked all the way to the countryside, we didn’t have buses, cars or trains. I was five years old. My mother passed away the next year in the bomb shelter, while my father was still in the military service. She died of malaria, which was widespread at the time in Taiwan. She was 26 years old. When the Japanese surrendered, I had just finished first grade.
What made you want to move to the United States?
I think when I was in college I decided to move to the United States because of the freedom. In Taiwan, they don’t have political freedom. I like freedom.
When you came to the United States did you find it difficult to learn English and adapt to this new country and environment?
Yes, yes. My drawback is English. I cannot speak English very well. You see, I graduate from normal school. Then I go to normal university. Normal school is the school that you graduate and you become an elementary school teacher. When you go to Taiwan's Normal University, you graduate and become a junior or senior high school teacher. So I go to the Normal School, and become an elementary school teacher; then I passed an exam and went to Normal University, and became a high school teacher. In Normal University, they don’t teach English, so my English is poor. To learn it, I went to night school at a YMCA in Taiwan. I never had any formal training, they only taught us how to have normal conversations, just the basics.
When you came to the United States, did you go back to school?
Yes, I went to graduate school. I chose the cheapest one. I got a tuition scholarship, so I didn’t need to pay tuition. But I still needed to pay room and board, so I chose the cheapest one. University of Southern Mississippi was the cheapest. At the time, I think it was $1000 a year for room, board, and book loans. When I was a high school teacher, my salary was $25.
$25 a day?
No. $25 a month. Even though it was only $1000 per year, I had to save for 40 months in Taiwan in order to afford to come to the United States and go to school.
What did you study at graduate school?
I studied mathematics. I got my masters at the University of Southern Mississippi, and went to University of Houston to get my PhD. Then I went to work at NASA as a principal engineer. Because I had PhD, I became a principal engineer. I worked on Endeavor, Challenger, Columbia and Discovery’s ascent (launch), and a second phase for the shuttles to return to Earth if there was any trouble with ascent.
Wow. Being a part of something so enduring and revered as NASA’s space shuttle missions must have been incredible.
Yes, yes. It was.
Last question- what is your favorite thing about the island?
I like traveling in Taiwan. It’s the most beautiful island. It’s the best place to visit, and the food is really good. Right now, I really want to go back to Taiwan to travel, but four years ago, I visited and told my brother that it would be the last time I set foot on the island.
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INTERVIEW WITH ISABELLA WANG
my good friend, a multimedia creative known for her expressive paintings and flawless technique, a student at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York City, and a half-Chinese, half Venezuelan immigrant (find more of her work on instagram, @isabella.illust)
Hey Isabella! Could you introduce yourself a little bit?
Hi, I’m Isabella Wang! I’m 19, and currently studying illustration in Parsons School of Design. My mom is Venezuelan and my dad is Chinese; they met in NYC where they had me!
That’s amazing! How has your heritage impacted your life?
I don’t have that much of a connection to my Asian side because I don’t speak Chinese. Because I lived in Venezuela, I used to get bullied a lot about my last name though. I never cared, but I realized the significance when I moved here. There was this guy in my building in San Diego who was racist and used to yell to me and my dad to go back to our country. But to be honest, I traveled to China a few years back and it was a pretty amazing experience.
Would you say you identify more with your Venezuelan heritage than your Chinese?
Yes definitely. I lived in Venezuela from when I was 5 years old to 17!
And how do your experiences both as an immigrant and with two different cultures affect your art?
When applying to schools I definitely had to decide on the pieces that have more meaning, and the ones that told stories about my background tended to be the most powerful. I was really driven to making things that spoke to my heritage and experiences more!
Lastly, how has the environment and climate of NYC changed because of the pandemic? What projects have you been working on while in self quarantine?
NYC does not feel like NYC. Before I left, it was oddly empty and it felt uncomfortable. It was kind of bleak. I’ve been staying in Long Island, mostly doing online school and designing and planning future projects!
INTERVIEW WITH OLIVIA SHIH
quarter-Chinese, quarter-Japanese, half-Taiwanese gymnast and field hockey player from Boston, Massachusetts.
Hey Liv! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
My full name is Olivia Ann Shih, nicknamed "Liv," and I’m fifteen years old. I’m Taiwanese, Chinese, and Japanese, and was born and raised in Boston. I love sports and being active but my favorite thing to do is travel and discover new places. I also love hanging out with my friends and making new ones.
How has your Asian heritage impacted your life?
It has definitely impacted the foods I eat and my appearance, but aside from that it doesn’t have a huge impact on my everyday life.
And have you ever faced any racism because of your appearance and cultural identity?
I’ve been around a lot of people who like to joke about things like our eyes or what we eat (especially jokes about us eating dogs). I normally tell them that it can be really offensive to people who aren’t as light-hearted or humorous as I am, and that it’s not something they should even be joking about.
Lastly, what’s your favorite thing about your culture?
I really like learning about my cultures’ history in school, but of course eating sushi is a favorite as well!
INTERVIEW WITH EMERSON TAKATA
one of my oldest friends, and a quarter-Japanese
Hey Em! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Emerson Takata. I am 17 years old and a Senior at La Jolla High School. I am 1/4 Japanese, which comes from my dad and my grandpa, and I am also Caucasian (Italian and German) from my dad and my mom. My mom has also convinced my family that she is part American Indian after researching our family history, but I’m not sure how much of that I would be considered to be! I am on varsity swim at the high school and I also love art, whether it be creating or performing. I obviously love the beach as SoCal beaches are so so beautiful. I love being outside, as my mom and dad have always encouraged my siblings and I to have a love and appreciation for it and its beauty.
Has your heritage influenced your life?
Haha this is a funny question; I think subconsciously it has. My family embraces how the Japanese live and their customs. For example, (I know many American homes do this now too) we always take our shoes off before we come inside and always keep our house very clean. I obviously love Asian food and sushi too. But I think it has also encouraged me to think outside of the box and not stick to the “traditional path” of an Asian child. Despite my interest in science, I also want to explore other subjects: art, literature, history, and even math.
I love that! If I remember correctly, you visited Japan last year. How was that experience of reconnecting with some of your roots?
It was awesome! We actually visited a bunch of family that I didn't even know we had. We walked into this room and all of my Japanese family members stood up and started clapping for me and my family. We met all of them, had dinner, and my siblings and I played with the kids out in the front of the house. My grandpa actually founded a hospital in Japan and many of my Japanese family members that we met work there now. It was amazing to see all of my heritage really come to life and become a reality, because I had never met any of them before.
Wow, that sounds like an amazing experience. Last question! What’s your favorite thing about your Asian culture and heritage?
I love how prominent the concept of family is involved in the culture. I also love how they idealize hard work and respect those who have worked towards their dreams.
A GROWING LIST OF ASIAN CREATIVES
some incredible friends and fellow artists, writers, and photographers you should check out on instagram!