Ming Ying Hong, "The One with the Pigs Feet"
2022
Color pencil on paper mounted to panel
ARTIST STATEMENT
The work explores hybridized bodies, examining the way we define, categorize, and assign power to them. Most recently, Hong has been exploring her multi-hyphenate identity. As a Chinese immigrant and American Southerner, she explores moments when these distinct aspects converge and diverge. The self-portraits prominently feature food motifs and symbols of the Chinese diaspora that have been both weaponized against and embraced by second-generation Chinese Americans. This exploration raises questions about the tug-and-pull nature of assimilation—how does one blend in with the dominant culture that still positions them as outsiders, while still embracing the origins of one’s heritage? More pressingly, how can we reframe what it means to be an American?
ARTIST BIO
Born in Guangzhou, China, Ming Ying Hong is an interdisciplinary artist based in Rhode Island. She exhibits throughout the United States and internationally in spaces such as Zabludowicz Collection in London, UK; CICA Museum in Gimpo, South Korea; the Attleboro Arts Museum in Massachusetts; the Appleton Museum of Art in Florida; and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in Missouri. Her work has been published in numerous publications including New American Paintings, Manifest’s International Drawing Annual, and ArtMaze Mag.
Ming received her BFA from the University of Kentucky and was a Danforth Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, where she received her MFA in visual art. Currently, she is an associate professor at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
2022
Color pencil on paper mounted to panel
ARTIST STATEMENT
The work explores hybridized bodies, examining the way we define, categorize, and assign power to them. Most recently, Hong has been exploring her multi-hyphenate identity. As a Chinese immigrant and American Southerner, she explores moments when these distinct aspects converge and diverge. The self-portraits prominently feature food motifs and symbols of the Chinese diaspora that have been both weaponized against and embraced by second-generation Chinese Americans. This exploration raises questions about the tug-and-pull nature of assimilation—how does one blend in with the dominant culture that still positions them as outsiders, while still embracing the origins of one’s heritage? More pressingly, how can we reframe what it means to be an American?
ARTIST BIO
Born in Guangzhou, China, Ming Ying Hong is an interdisciplinary artist based in Rhode Island. She exhibits throughout the United States and internationally in spaces such as Zabludowicz Collection in London, UK; CICA Museum in Gimpo, South Korea; the Attleboro Arts Museum in Massachusetts; the Appleton Museum of Art in Florida; and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in Missouri. Her work has been published in numerous publications including New American Paintings, Manifest’s International Drawing Annual, and ArtMaze Mag.
Ming received her BFA from the University of Kentucky and was a Danforth Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, where she received her MFA in visual art. Currently, she is an associate professor at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
2022
Color pencil on paper mounted to panel
ARTIST STATEMENT
The work explores hybridized bodies, examining the way we define, categorize, and assign power to them. Most recently, Hong has been exploring her multi-hyphenate identity. As a Chinese immigrant and American Southerner, she explores moments when these distinct aspects converge and diverge. The self-portraits prominently feature food motifs and symbols of the Chinese diaspora that have been both weaponized against and embraced by second-generation Chinese Americans. This exploration raises questions about the tug-and-pull nature of assimilation—how does one blend in with the dominant culture that still positions them as outsiders, while still embracing the origins of one’s heritage? More pressingly, how can we reframe what it means to be an American?
ARTIST BIO
Born in Guangzhou, China, Ming Ying Hong is an interdisciplinary artist based in Rhode Island. She exhibits throughout the United States and internationally in spaces such as Zabludowicz Collection in London, UK; CICA Museum in Gimpo, South Korea; the Attleboro Arts Museum in Massachusetts; the Appleton Museum of Art in Florida; and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in Missouri. Her work has been published in numerous publications including New American Paintings, Manifest’s International Drawing Annual, and ArtMaze Mag.
Ming received her BFA from the University of Kentucky and was a Danforth Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, where she received her MFA in visual art. Currently, she is an associate professor at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).