Rootless Orchids exhibition to close Sunday, July 22

Co-sponsored graduate show addresses stateless Taiwanese identity

By Towson University on July 19, 2018

Still from single channel video, A Moonlight Flit (2016), by Pei-Hsuan Wang. The film documents the experiences of four transnational individuals in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand.

The public is invited to attend the closing reception of Rootless Orchids on Sunday, July 22, from 5-7 p.m. in Towson University’s Asian Arts and Cultural Center’s Asian Arts Gallery. Admission is free.

The exhibition, co-sponsored by the Asian Arts & Culture Center (AA & CC) and Maryland Institute of Art (MICA), will close on July 22 after a successful seven weeks on campus.

Painting — A detail of Verrazano (2018) by Yi-An Pan. Acrylic ink and oil pastel on duralar film. 14 in x 11 in.

Rootless Orchids features work by Taiwanese and Taiwanese-American artists focusing on shifting identities in the United States and East Asia. Curated by Fang Yu Lee, a recent graduate of MICA’s Curatorial Practice MFA program, the exhibit looks at transforming memories of immigration and notions of diaspora in microcosms of visual experience.

The four artists—Chiehsen Chiu, Yi-An Pan, Pei-Hsuan Wang and Yin-Ju Chen—explore the issues of stateless identity in the postcolonial present, as well as diaspora nomadism and labor mobility. They sought to create a safe space within the exhibition in which Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders could freely talk about their experiences and let their voices be heard.

For more information, contact Nerissa Paglinauan or Joanna Pecore: 410-704-2807, towson.edu/asianarts, or asianarts AT_TOWSON.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel's priorities for Towson University: Diverse and Inclusive Campus.