Reflecting on the Mixed Identity Through Art by Jonathan Shlesinger

Peel - Sasha Gordan 

Raised in Westchester, New York, Gordon struggled to confront her East Asian identity through much of her childhood. She regards her youth with fondness, but recognizes that in the predominantly white area she grew up in, there was little room for identity exploration. There were no discussions she could have with peers; there were no people quite like her. As she has matured, she has surrounded herself with BIPOC women (all of them welcoming and understanding) and achieved the conversations she was spent years without. She has come into her East Asian identity, and this piece exemplifies the comfort and familiarity she feels with East Asian women who share many of the same experiences and hardships. This piece speaks to her sexuality. As a bisexual women, Peel is also a portrayal of the sexuality she grew up with and was told to suppress. 

One - Grace Stamps  

One is the first in a series by Stamps. Titled Grey, the name itself is a play on how Stamps feels about her black and white identity. Black and white equates to grey. As much as she herself feels “grey,” she recognizes that she falls between her two cultures; in the “grey zone.” The series takes visual media revolving around racial issues (primarily black or white) and using them to assess her own identity. One was inspired by a photograph taken during the Ferguson riots in 2014; the picture shows a person pouring milk into a woman’s eyes to flush out tears gas. The grey in the piece is representative of Stamps herself, while the vibrant colors are symbolic of the energy, actions, and/or beliefs of a racial group. The work shows how Stamps feels, at times, that her assimilation is forced, it is poured onto her. 

 Midnight Disco - Lauren YS

Lauren YS, a young artist recognized for her psychedelic art incorporates themes of sex, space, and gender, begins her works by sketching her emotions. Art is a medium that helps her coax out, identity, and work through thoughts of her identity and upbringing. Astronauts, in particular, have become the shape of the questions she has of her childhood. The Asian themes that are embedded throughout her work stem from her Chinese side. 

How I Met Your Mother - Genevieve Gaignard 

Gaignard is an art who specializes in photographic self-portraiture, installations, and sculptures that explore issues of race, gender, femininity, class, and the intersections of these concepts. Half-black and half-white, Gaignard youth was laced with feelings of invisibility as she questioned if her family was not white enough to be white or black enough to be black. She plays with the concept of “passing” through her work and challenges her audience to navigate their intersectional identities and all of the powers and fears they encompass.