Chinese visual artists in New York remake Asian identity on social media
What is it about?
The mass shooting in Atlanta that killed eight people including six Asian women in March 2021 marked the new peak of the unceasing waves of anti-Asian violence since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States. In this context, this article examines how a group of Chinese visual artists in New York perform and remake their Asian identity on social media in response to a surge in hatred towards and violence against Asians in the United States following the outbreak of COVID-19.
Why is it important?
My work deepens and enriches the understanding of Asian-ness in the United States in the struggle against anti-Asian hate crime and racial injustice. Through making new Asian visual rhetoric, creating audience interaction, and engaging with pandemic politics on social media, this group of Chinese visual artists rethink, reimagine, and remake new racial identities and racial relations.