Intergenerational
Intergenerational is a self-portrait project which explores my maternal heritage. Inspired by the unfolding stories and family history that I learned late into adulthood, I examine the impact of trauma, historical events, cultural conflict, and the ways that each are woven into my experiences and perceptions.
Bound
Foot binding was the practice of stunting the growth of Chinese girls’ feet, in order to remain tiny through adulthood. In the process, bones in the feet were broken, which caused women to be wheelchair bound. It was considered ideal for women’s feet to be around 3 to 4 inches long, stuffed into shoes that looked like beautifully intricate doll or baby shoes. My great grandmothers were within the last generation with bound feet before the practice was banned.
Lotus Shoe
Lotus shoes were worn by Chinese women with bound feet. Although disturbingly small, the shoes were ornate, embroidered and often colorful. As women aged, their clothing became less colorful. My mother recalls her grandmothers wearing black lotus shoes.
Sweet Potato Refuge
In 1941, the Japanese invaded Malaya (now Malaysia). My grandfather was a young teenager when he left home and hid in the jungle. Rice supply was interrupted and became expensive, but sweet potatoes grew easily, so it was the only food to eat. When he was able to return, until the day he died, he refused to eat sweet potatoes, a reminder of this hardship.
Discomfort
The Imperial Japanese army occupied several countries and territories during WWII, including then Malaya. It was common for Japanese soldiers to kidnap teenage girls to force into sexual slavery, calling them “comfort women.” During this time, my grandmother cut her hair short and dressed as a boy to avoid attention when leaving the house to run errands. The number of abducted girls is estimated to be around 200,000, and could be as high as 400,000, with 90% dying in captivity.
Illegal / Unsafe
My great aunt was rumored to have died of complications from an underground abortion. This was (and still is) perceived as such a shameful way to die that instead of her family mourning a lost life, she was by all accounts forgotten and never spoken of again. Abortion is still illegal in Malaysia with only rare medical exceptions.