Natalie Krick playfully but critically investigates the representation of women in popular culture, pulling from the imagery of glossy magazines and fashion photography. Rachel Jessen examines female identity through the lens of young female wrestlers in North Carolina, while Birthe Piontek explores the relationship between memory and identity, focusing particularly on female identity and its representation in our society.
Leonard Suryajaya’s elaborate tableaux test the boundaries of intimacy, community, and family, pulling from his upbringing as an Indonesian citizen of Chinese descent, as a Buddhist educated in Christian schools in a Muslim-majority country, and as someone who departed from his family and his culture’s definitions of love and family. Paula Wilson’s multimedia work pulls from her experience as a bi-racial woman, conjoining perceived opposites and highlighting multicultural realities. Kei Ito’s work addresses issues of generational connection and deep loss, focusing particularly on the tragedy and legacy passed on from his grandfather who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, yet died from cancer, and the threat of nuclear disaster which is still present today.