Annika Cheng
My artwork explores issues faced by the sino-diaspora through the recreation and recontextualization of traditional garments, objects, and practices in the fiber medium. The soft nature of the material allows these objects to be pliable, representing the ways that culture can shift and change. This pliability questions the ways that Chinese culture has been manipulated, colonized, appropriated, and fetishized by a Western gaze. This pliability also points to the ways that diaspora members can change traditions to fit their modern contexts, and fight against the orientalizing ways that Chinese cultures have been depicted as stagnant and primitive. I hope that my work is able to empower members of the diaspora to define what culture means to them, and releases them from the need to perform “Chinese-ness” for an American gaze.
About the artist:
Annika Cheng is an interdisciplinary artist and activist from Queens, NYC. She is currently studying at the Maryland Institute College of Art as a fiber major with minors in art history, illustration, and experimental fashion. Her work explores different aspects of the sino-diaspora through the recontextualization of traditional garments, objects, and practices. In addition to her art practice, Annika Cheng also maintains a strong activist practice. As a member of NYCAASC, she works to promote awareness around AAPI issues through the organization of informative and interactive workshops. She is also currently working on creating an accessible resource for the Asian American adoptee community.
变脸 Face Changing
2020
Acrylic yarn
26 inches x 11 inches x 0.5 inches
福 Good Luck
2020
Cotton thread
8 inches x 8 inches x 0.5-inches
麻將牌 Mahjong Tiles
2020
Acrylic yarn, fabric scraps
22 inches x 9 inches x 4 inches
新年快乐 Lunar New Year
2021
Acrylic yarn
10 inches x 12 inches x 4 inches
美国旗袍 Beautiful American Cheong Sam
2020
Found fabrics
16 inches x 28 inches