about the art
This art pairing features work by Sharon Chohi Kim and Hellen Jo, two women who use their art-making practices to understand themselves and reject stereotypes about who they are or who they can be.
Chohi’s Unstuckness Practice is a music film that reflects on her journey to reconnect with her body and voice after feeling feeling physically numb from sexual trauma and vocally stuck from years of trying to act and sound white while performing in a Eurocentric, predominantly white opera world. In her film, she takes the physical gestures she developed in her unstuckness practice — trembling and shaking to “unstick” her voice and body — and weaves them into a film piece that creates space for communal healing.
The mail art is Heatwave by Hellen Jo. The themes of her illustrations, paintings, and comics center on Asian American girlhood, grossness, and body horror, depicting menacing girls and solemn women in a repeated exploration of her ideal self: “In tandem with my art, I eventually morphed from scared, angry teenager into slightly braver, angry woman, and as I move closer in life to my 'true self,' I try to discover who that is in my work: a powerful teenager who is cold, ruthless, incredibly strong and doesn't give a fuck.”