KÜNSTLERHAUS

BETHANIEN

Künstler*innen

Jennifer Ling Datchuk

USA

My work has always dealt with identity, with the sense of being in-between, an imposter, neither fully Chinese nor Caucasian. I have learned to live with the constant question about my appearance: “What are you?” I change my response depending on my hair, make-up, clothes, what I am doing, where I am or what I am eating – who I am at the moment. I find people are rarely satisfied with my answer. I explore this conflict through my chosen media, porcelain, which nods to my Chinese heritage but also represents “pure” white – the white desire I find in both cultures. Bound by these conditions, I stitch together my individual nature, unravel the pressures of conformity, and forever experience pain in search of perfection.