These works study the different fashion styles that have been popular in different cultures throughout history. Many of these works also study the connection between these popular styles of clothing and conflicts of the time. 

 

Instead of arranging my artworks in the order I would have if they were being displayed in person, I decided that adjusting to showcasing online would be important in ensuring that the same effect is given to viewers. While in person I would have arranged the pieces in a manner where the country of focus would be placed in correspondence with where it would fall on the world map, this is difficult to do online. I did not want to display all of my images on one screen because I wanted to give my audience the opportunity to enjoy every individual piece without the distraction of other pieces. I created a slider gallery using photographs of my work in order to achieve this. The slider gallery has arrows which the audience is allowed to use, and this forces people to spend as much time with every piece as they feel is necessary - it pushes my audience to pay close attention to symbols, colors, etc. that are important to each art piece.

 

I arranged my work in chronological order, in order to give the audience an effect as if they are looking at a timeline of global history. The first artwork displayed is the photograph titled “What It Means To Be A Woman”, which studies the economic and social culture of Japan during the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The last two images of my exhibition also focus on Japanese culture. However, these two works - “Red Lips” and “Panya”, represent modern day Japan. This deliberate decision was made because by creating a connection between the first and last images, I am able to tie everything together. The connection between “What It Means To Be A Woman” and “Red Lips” is clear through both the description which details that it focuses on Japan, but also through the depiction of women, which is intended to comment on the role women played in society in the 19th century and present day. The cohesiveness between the last two images are especially clear since they are the only two works in which I used the medium embroidery. I chose to use this medium because ‘Home Economics’ classes are very common in Japan, and here students have the opportunity to learn how to sew. 

 

The second photo in the gallery is a picture of multimedia work. This piece captures the lifestyles which Chinese people were forced to live after Japan began to invade China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The fact that this piece follows the work of Japan, highlights how many different countries face conflict. It also helps to emphasize the message of the piece: that the decisions made by Japan during the war were wrong and cost the livelihoods of thousands. This emphasis is made clear through the contrasting of clothes between the young girl in "What It Means To Be A Woman“ and the boy in “Tears of the Night”. The boy is seen wearing a soldier’s uniform, while the girl wears a kimono. This gives context to the conditions in which these individuals lived in. 

 

The third artwork in my exhibition is titled “I Am An American Too”. This piece expresses the hate that Japanese-Americans received during World War II. Since the government feared the possibility of Japanese-Americans being spies for Japan, they sent them to internment camps beginning in 1942. The timeline for this piece coincides with the timeline for “Tears of the Night” slightly. This connection is important because it shows the experiences of different countries during roughly the same time. By viewing these pieces after one another, one would be able to acknowledge that countries often have experiences where they were victims of horrible crimes, and where they were the ones to commit them. It highlights the cruel ways in which war changes our morals. The two pieces are similar because of the use of overlapping as well as both text and pictures. 

 

The fourth piece, “Khmer Queen'' is similar to “I Am An American Too” in terms of the medium used.  Both works are photo collages that combine both text and images to convey their intended meaning. “Khmer Queen'' focuses on a Gen Z Cambodian girl. The images of the genocide behind her, show that her culture’s past makes up a large part of who she is. The word ‘proud’ at the bottom of the photo collage show that she is proud of her ancestors' struggles, and honors their suffering through her appreciation of her culture.

 

After “Khmer Queen” is “Mirror Mirror” which focuses on the way society has placed a heavy emphasis on looks and it seeks to criticize this superficial value. The composition and the colors of the piece, which give it the film camera effect, aim to set the scene in America during the 70’s, it is shown that from a young age girls are taught to always make themselves ‘presentable’.

 

The following artwork is titled “I Dream Big”. This piece spotlights South American immigrants who live with the constant threat of  possibly being deported or detained. The contrast of colors in the piece (black from the more vibrant colors red, blue, and white) help to emphasize the paint on her body and her hair ornament. The woman had painted herself with the colors of the Chilean flag, so it makes it clear to the audience that the focus is South America. It also helps to give context to the issue of immigration. The gesture of the woman who is flipping off the camera, shows her anger and frustration about the way that many are mistreated and unprotected. 

 

The final two pieces “Red Lips” and “Panya” are presented later in the exhibition because it shows the ways in which Japan has become more modernized. The hairstyle is one that would have been popular around the 90’s and the architecture of the building, especially for a bakery, is also more modern. These works are different from the others in the exhibition because they do not capture a scene of conflict. Instead, these two pieces capture the ways in which a country can grow economically, socially, and politically after a war. To conclude the exhibition, the audience is intended to realize that while the effects of conflict remain a part of a culture’s history, there are ways in which such events can be prevented from repeating. And it is through this prevention, that a country will be able to truly prosper.