Undergraduate Work (1993-1994)
COMFORT WOMEN: From 1932-1945, the Japanese Imperial Army kidnapped and coerced close to 200,000 East-Asian women to be used as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers. Over 80% were Korean, ages ranging from 10 to 30. Along with military equipment, these women were listed as supplies and shipped to various military camps throughout Asia where Japan occupied. The "Comfort Stations" confined each child or woman into a small room to be raped all day and night. Many died from disease, botched abortions, beatings and executions. At the time of the ceasefire, many were executed or forced to kill themselves. Although the long process for retributions and apologies for the survivors has commenced, each day fewer survivors of the "Comfort Women" remain.
Graduate Work (1994-1996)
THE STORE PAINTINGS: Korean-owned beauty supply stores serve a billion dollar market for the Black hair industry. Between manufacturing, distributing and selling these hair care products, Koreans appear to control every facet of this market. After running a small restaurant for 12 exhausting years, my parents bought into a black-beauty supply store with the promise of shorter hours and less physical labor. Unbeknownst to them, they entered into a complex world of delicate racial dynamics of such a store, a world of convex mirrors, constantly watching and being watched, and even more volatile just after the LA riots in the early 90's.
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