Living in America, and being a Caucasian male, I find that the views on China that I hear and experienced are generalized and skewed. China seems to be a source that inspired such words and jokes concerning slanderous words such as “yellow,” “chink,” “ slant,” etc. etc. My girlfriend (who is the subject in this picture) is Korean. She was born in America, but holds dearly to aspects of her tradition in family. Invented Americanized negativity towards Asian cultures is something that brings me great sadness and anger. I wanted to create an image that would mix cliché and the opposite end of the American culture, sexuality.

I used chopsticks in a reversed manner to show the backwards nature of my feelings and also to show cliché along with the significance of heritage and tradition.

I used fruit to show a link between fruit and women, links to all our souls. I used the setting, the shapes, and the color to create feel, tension, and composition.

China, in my eyes, is a different culture. It is a link to a different aspect of my soul. It is a creator of tradition, goods, and inspiration. China is another spoke on the wheel that links us all as humanity.

Sincerely,

Justin Heim

Justin Heim also took part in Field of Vision: Extremes.

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