Elaine Dong

Utopia series, 2021

Photography series.

Collaborated with fashion designer Yirui Chen, who designed the costume for this project. This photo series explores aesthetic stereotypes towards women, as well as inequality in daily life, in a bigger environment in the western world.

乡愁 (Nostalgia), 2022

Printed plane ticket, 82.6 x 187.3 mm

The twenty-four plane tickets are an installation derived from the ticket that I collected from 2016, the first year that I came to the US to study, until 2022, the year I will graduate from college.

My luggage is my home, 2022

Video

A performance art exploring the possibilities of home as a third culture kid. Being a Chinese female artist traveling between countries, this piece plays with the concept of what to bring and what not to, by repeating the action of putting things in the luggage.

Artist Statement

In my art, I work with themes of cultural difference, surveillance, sexuality, and gender, with a focus on the female experience. As a Chinese female artist who travels between China and the United States, I am further interested in interrogating my own experience of migration, and cross-cultural exchange as it occurs for the Third Culture Kids today. Through my work, I challenge the preconceived notions, misconceptions, and stereotypes of women within the art world and the patriarchal structure.

I am exploring issues of women and gender in the constantly changing environment. In the work 乡愁 (Nostalgia), the 24 self-designed plane tickets serve as an autobiography and portraiture of myself in the journey of exploring my identity. By creating multiple aspects of my identity through various techniques, including photography, design, and video, my artworks reflect a more comprehensive image of myself, even the aspects that I consciously neglect. How to adapt and become a “woman” in distinctive cultures has become the core of my investigation.

I adapt to the continuously changing environment and innovate my own approach to different languages and media, such as tarot cards. The hybrid practice adds strength to my thoughts on the idea of gender, sexuality, and migration. The use of multimedia allows me to examine the various roles women play in society. Considering how patriarchy has structured and influenced us in different forms allows me to amplify the diverse experiences of women.

By combing and cross-referencing art and technology — the focus of my work and the critical element of my artistic passion — I want to transform my message and apply my skill to engage with real-world problems, impacting communities, organizations, and individuals through creativity.