F*CK Your Assimilation
This collection came about from a desire to manifest Japanese American diasporic representations in an institution that has failed to make us feel welcome, seen, or supported.
I wanted to honor my family's history as immigrants to the US chasing the American Dream of economic prosperity and giving form to their strength in building a family that has thrived through several generations. I use different legends, materials, fabrics, and techniques to develop an intersectional modern lens through which I can interact with the same cultural notions in new ways. I mix imagery from the Shinto faith and Japanese mythology with American symbolism to represent the shift and difference between being Japanese vs. being Japanese-American, holding space for a diasporic culture that has branched away from its roots.
It was incredibly important to me to distance the narrative from the internment of WWII, as most textbooks focus on the trauma inflicted on people of Japanese descent by the US government under Executive Order 9066. This intentional erasure manages to compress generations of history, love, beauty, and strength into a one-dimensional story written by our oppressors.
However, this project is not denial of our American identity, but is instead a critique of how much more work needs to be done and how we are meant to hold faith and persevere to honor our ancestors' legacy.
All of the pieces in this collection discuss intersections of gender, class, generational change, hope, oppression, light, love, spirituality. This exhibition is my attempt to create the aesthetic representation of my culture that I did not have growing up.
Miles "Mochi" Meadows ‘24
Advisor: Bridget Murphy Milligan
All images copyright © 2024 Miles Meadows. All rights reserved.
