Crystal Du

While studying Edward Said and Orientalism, I discovered that masters such as Ingres, Delacroix, and Gauguin have painted overly romanticized and sensual depictions of Asian women. Although the stereotypical portrayals are absurd, the aesthetic is overwhelmingly beautiful. This conflict pushed me to portray exotic beauty in a positive light as more femme fatale and less passive and oppressed; therefore, I decided to subvert the idealized tiger lady/dragon woman portrayed in western films and music videos — yellow skin, black shiny hair, red lipstick — by adding images of mystery and dominance.

  

I wanted to make Asian women a symbol of strength. My dual heritage also inspires me to create artwork that romanticizes stereotypical eastern art qualities and combines them with western retro glamour and a touch of tackiness. For example, I incorporate kitsch objects, such as wild animal print, to decorate psychedelic drawings to show how alienated and exotic Asian women have become in the West over the years. I also used saturated colors and high contrast in my work because I find the vibrating visual effect very powerful.

 

Instead of criticizing Orientalism directly, I want to use its beauty and absurdity to criticize Orientalism indirectly. I created a series of images to portray the typical “mysterious east” in the western world. By deconstructing Orientalism, each image shows some aspects of exoticism and cultural tropes of Asia to push people to think deeper into the made-up concept of “the orient.”