But You’re Not Innocent
Ink with perticipatory performance, 2019
This performance was first shown live at Analysand by Roller Door Projects. An audience member of mostly strangers were invited to leave handprints on my naked back, using sumi-ink that I grinded relentlessly from an ink stone while I knelt on the ground.
But You’re Not Innocent is a meditation on consent, and what it means to inhabit a female body bound by societal judgement that values sexual purity. The manual grinding of ink speaks to gendered labour and blame, that is often placed upon victims of assault.
In light of Asian bodies being continually subjected to ongoing racial and gendered violence, this artwork asks viewers to reflect on power, consent and agency.
