The Guardians (2020–ongoing)

The Guardians (Tilda Swinton, David Carradine), 2020, graphite pencil on paper (2), 48 x 36 cm (framed 70 x 60 cm), Books and Things, Paul Robeson Galleries, Express Newark, Rutgers University, 2022, curated by Alexandra Chang, photo: Perri Hofmann

The Guardians (Tilda Swinton, David Carradine), 2020, graphite pencil on paper (2), 48 x 36 cm (framed 70 x 60 cm), photo: Aleks Slota

The Guardians (Scarlet Johannson, Tom Cruise), 2022, graphite and colored pencil on paper (2), 48 x 36 cm (framed 70 x 60 cm), photo: Aleks Slota

The Guardians (Scarlet Johannson), 2022, graphite and colored pencil on paper (2), 48 x 36 cm (framed 70 x 60 cm), photo: Aleks Slota

The Guardians is a drawing series, which renders mid-18th century Meissen figurines that are supposed be Chinese/Other. These porcelain figures are in the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the European Decorative Arts. In these drawings I intervened and replaced the original face (which was based on some German fantastical stereotype of what East Asians should look like), with the faces of Hollywood actors. This work ties Chinoiserie to yellowface and whitewashing and addresses the long racist and hurtful practice in film television, and theater where white actors of European descent are cast in Asian/Pacific Islander character roles. This system has long been influenced by white supremacy and must be scrutinised and fixed so that BIPOC are neither rendered invisible in mainstream western media, nor hurt by insidious cliches.