Yu Tada
Comment Series
My work deals with issues of cultural identity, reflecting my experience growing up Japanese in the multicultural cities of Hong Kong and New York. Through layering, repetition and a limited color palette, I create prints, paintings and other two-dimensional works that speak to the struggle to identify culture and race in an age of multiculturalism.
The Comment Series speaks to the power of racist comments that we encounter every day. It is also an appropriation of artist Dana Weiser’s drawings representing her thoughts regarding the racist comments she hears. I decided to make this piece because, as someone growing up and living in a multicultural society, I was less aware of the power of these words. I used patterns as a way to attract the viewers, and inserted racist comments made to me beneath the patterns. The result is ambiguous. By making the text difficult to read, it forces the viewer to more deeply engage with the piece.
