Spring 2020 Artist-in-Residence

SVAD Studio at Stormwater Studios

Evelyn Wong is an interdisciplinary Chinese-American artist. For her this residency with the School of Visual Art and Design, she’ll be working in the SVAD Studio at Stormwater Studios in downtown Columbia, S.C, and interfacing with the UofSC and Columbia communities! Evelyn Wong received her B.F.A. from the University of South Carolina and her M.F.A. from Maine College of Art.  She works across book arts, installation, collage, drawing, painting, and embroidery, and cites artists such as Andrea Dezsö, Kara Walker, Shahzia Sikander, Xiyadie, Sonya Clark, and author Laura Esquivel as sources of her inspiration.  

Wong’s research into various narrative formats has led to investigations on the use of various book forms with Asian origins as a reference to her own story and heritage.  Her work highlights the problems of unquestioned practices found in the long-held traditions and patriarchal attitudes of Chinese culture that contribute to women’s invisibility and oppression. Her work reflects the state of liminality experienced by someone who exists between American society and Chinese culture, and questions whether the problems she sees are so different from one culture to another.

Evelyn Wong’s Residency Project

wHeRe ArE yOuR pEoPLe FrOm?? is an art project I am proposing for a residency at Stormwater Studios. As a Chinese American from South Carolina, my kitchen is always a blend of flavors from the American South and Chinese cuisine. Although recipes from my family’s cookbook are a large part of my culinary experience, I have inevitably taken a great deal of influence from my neighbors over the years—talented home cooks and local chefs from diverse backgrounds whose love of food and joy of cooking have inspired me as an artist and experimental home cook. This project will involve interviews and photographs that engage and highlight members of the local community, including chefs, home cooks, and food enthusiasts from my hometown of Columbia,South Carolina.

The project will culminate in an artist’s book of family recipes, blended-culture recipes, interviews, and snapshots to show where “my people” are really from. The artist’s book, as a form of narrative visual art, will hold together stories from these community members who may have had family origins in Columbia or may have emigrated from other countries and found a home in Columbia. My personal ties to the community and my own recipes that have been inspired by these people will also be shared as part of this book’s creation.

Artist’s Statement

“What is our responsibility in dismantling the power structures and disrupting the social practices that uphold harmful and toxic attitudes, and how do we give voice to affected communities?  

Studies by the American Psychological Association found that Asian American women have one of the highest rates of chronic depression and suicide ideation.  The causes of this vary widely, but online communities for women in the Asian diaspora reveal that a major factor is the oppressive and patriarchal nature of filial piety, which is imposed on us from an early age.  Filial piety’s historical intent was to create a social structure that would establish familial harmony and respect.  However, its oppressive nature and negative view towards women led to daughters who have been verbally and physically abused, expected to maintain unrealistically high standards, and psychologically manipulated into fear and submission.  The glorification of women’s virtuousness and chastity meant that daughters are frequently isolated from peers and forbidden from social activities–their bodies commodified as vessels of procreation and objects for the male gaze.  Mental health problems are seen as a weakness of virtue and nature, thus family members often deny that their daughters’ mental health is at risk for fear of bringing shame and dishonor to the family name.  These women fear speaking out as members of their own community shame them for voicing unhappiness, believing that it would label all Asian cultures and men as oppressive.  These women are forced into cycles of invisibility in society and lack support for mental health care, even though centuries of such practices have led to generational and developmental trauma for many.

I am interested in the cultural narratives of, and resulting from, these toxic cultural beliefs from a historical and contemporary perspective.  My work reveals and critiques similar values across cultures by relating my stories and the stories of Asian women to narratives outside of the Asian diaspora, and examines ways to give a voice to survivors, elicit empathy, and change these harmful social practices.”

Community Workshops

Evelyn Wong is leading several workshops with the SVAD, UofSC, and Columbia communities. These workshops are completely free and open to the public. All materials will be provided but feel free to bring special items you wish to use or incorporate. All workshops are three hours long unless otherwise stated. Click on a workshop title to learn about the projects you’ll make.

Basic Bookbinding Structures Workshop 
Friday, March 13
Time: 2:00 - 5:00 pm

Bookbinding has a rich history from its early usage in religious texts to contemporary forms of visual storytelling. Experimentations with paper and other materials has led to developments in paper engineering in pop-up books, unconventional book forms, and other contemporary methods of visual narratives. This workshop will give an introduction to some basic book structures that will give participants ideas to develop their own bound-book (and beyond!) projects.

Traditional Asian Book Bindings WorkshopFriday, March 20
Time: TBA

Asian book bindings are recognized for their delicate treatment of papers and materials that have stood the test of time. In the present-day, Asian book bindings are popular for holding together loose pages of imagery and text in poetic visual narratives. This workshop will give an introduction to some fun and simple Asian bookbinding structures!

Zine Making WorkshopFriday, March 27
Time: TBA

Although zines have been around since the early-mid part of the 20th century, their rise to popularity came during the age of punk culture when the accessibility to commercial and home printers became more widespread. Cultural shifts and artist activism found that zines could be easily distributed as guerrilla art. In this workshop, participants will make their own zines based on a topic, learn about zines and other forms of guerrilla art, and learn about how art can be used to challenge, fight, and educate!
If you desire, please bring images on paper that you want to use or incorporate.

Community Potluck Friday, April 3
Bring a dish that has a special history to you and we’ll get to know one another through a discussion on history and cultural identity.

Other Events

Columbia Open Studios
April 4 and 5

Can’t make it to any workshops? Stop by the SVAD Studio to meet Evelyn and see her residency workspace.