Introduction

Too often we’ve been asked typical icebreaker questions like, ‘What are your hobbies?’, ‘What are your talents?’, ‘Where are you from?’.  These core elements of your identity tell the story of who you are, how you came to be this way, and is what makes each and every one of us unique.  Losing one’s identity can make you feel unmotivated, with a lack of purpose or direction in life.  In Embrace Yourself, I aim to show the importance of self identity through expressing some of my own, specifically my cultural identity and background.

Literature Review

One of my heavy artistic influences is Chinese calligraphy.  Calligraphy is a type of traditional penmanship that originated from ancient China.  It is most recognizable from the design and execution of lettering or characters using an ink brush.  While typically used for writing, it is also used for ink style paintings.  I use this calligraphy style of painting as the base of my illustration.  It serves as lining for the painting, and provides a nice contrast from the pure white canvas.  Another important part of my culture is red.  To represent this I want to make sure the majority of the colors present are red, or compliment this palette.  Red threads represent luck, love and warding off evil, so I added them connecting each canvas to the middle one to symbolize these ideas that connect and form my identity.

The study “I Didn’t Know I Could Have a Voice” by Chadrhyn A.A. Pedraza and Rene O. Guillaume, explores how Asian Americans viewed their own identities with experiences of racism during their childhood.  They found that most participants were typically silenced for being a different race and being compared and assessed as  the model minority stereotype.  I found this study particularly interesting to the relevance of my thesis and how it supports the idea of minority groups feeling ostracized because of their identities.

Methods

For my project I decided to illustrate a Chinese-style dragon using calligraphy style painting and brushstrokes.  The complete image is separated into 5 different canvases, to represent the idea of how there are different parts to one’s identity.  When arranged together on a flat surface and tied together with red threads, the canvases should create one, cohesive piece.  In order to make this project as authentic to myself as possible, I pulled the materials from my own home and childhood belongings.  By scrapping these materials and gluing them together, I formed several collages over the inked illustration.  The items featured in the collages show a glimpse into my childhood and household life.  Things like red envelopes, various snack wrappers, old newspapers, and even my own homeworks and calligraphy practice from when I was a child.  

Audience and Impact

I want my project to be able to reach everyone who views it, but I acknowledge that depending on people’s backgrounds, it will have different effects.  In particular, I split the effect my project will have into two different groups.  For East Asians, I want to promote a sense of community and nostalgia.  In viewing my project I want them to feel seen and not alone, and relate to the experiences and objects I weaved into my canvases.  For those who don’t identify as East-Asians, and those who feel disconnected with their own culture and identity, I want to open their eyes to a new perspective, with traditions and customs they might not have ever seen before.  I want to provide a realistic view into my culture including the good and the ugly, and I hope that opening up about my own identity will inspire people to do the same.  In working on this semester-long project, I feel like I’ve had the chance to reminisce on my own childhood and experiences.  Opening up my old Chinese homework from grade school and fishing through my old belongings gave me a sense of accomplishment, seeing how far I’ve come from a child to who I am now while still keeping this integral part of my identity close to my heart fills me with pride.

References

“Friends of Asian Arts.” Archives of Asian Art, vol. 52, no. 1, 2001, pp. 3–4, https://doi.org/10.1484/aaa.2001.0000.

Hahm, Hyeouk Chris, et al. “Experiences of COVID-19-Related Anti-Asian Discrimination and Affective Reactions in a Multiple Race Sample of U.S. Young Adults.” BMC Public Health, vol. 21, no. 1, 18 Aug. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11559-1.

Zifei Fay Chen, et al. “Channeling Engagement into Action: The Role of Empowerment in Asian Americans’ Social Media Use in Combating Anti-Asian Discrimination.” Asian Journal of Communication, 9 Feb. 2024, pp. 1–22, https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2024.2315587. Accessed 2 Mar. 2024.

Pedraza, Chadrhyn A.A., and Rene O. Guillaume. ““I Didn’t Know I Could Have a Voice”: How Asian American Childhood Experiences Shaped Lived Identities.” Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 17, no. 3, 27 Apr. 2023, pp. 330–342, www.sciencedirect.com/org/science/article/abs/pii/S2053535X23000186, https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-04-2022-0054.

“East Asian Arts - Common Traditions.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/art/East-Asian-arts/Common-traditions.

“China.” Oxford Art Online, Jan. 2003, https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t016513. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

Acknowledgements

This project was possible with the assistance of my fellow Art Scholars, my mother and father, Harold Burgess, and Irene Park.