Reflection by Jamie Garcia

How did this project  begin for you?

The idea took root in my mind after a collection of experiences that happened during average activities — ordering coffee, browsing in a clothing store, sitting in a meeting. In all of these situations, there was a common occurrence: the comment of how “exotic” I look, followed by questioning my country of origin. Though it didn’t bother me the first couple of times it happened, it started to hit a nerve once I noticed it would be the first two phrases out of a stranger’s mouth before getting to know my name, my order, or any other piece of information that was needed, depending on the situation. I felt the comments were rather extremely invasive and personal. I had no requirement to offer this knowledge, though, I felt pressure to. Also, the weight and historical context of the term “exotic,” learned through my international affairs and anthropological studies in college slowly re-emerged into my subconscious. I wanted to explore the word and approach the source of intrigue…which are normally women of color, viewed as objects. To push the artistic inspiration, I played with a larger metaphor for these women as goods, commodities.

I first approached Michelle Samson mainly because I knew we shared the same everyday experiences, navigating through average activities as Asian American women, and the common looks, comments, and situations that accompany them. She also is a design and construction genius when it comes to flowers and greenery. Her expertise in that medium allowed for another layer to my initial inspiration. Flowers are also seen as goods, commodities, and symbols of multiple, deeper meanings. Women also are commonly analogous to flowers —what an appropriate collaboration, I thought. And I was right. Flowers are understood as inherently beautiful objects that are decorative, sometimes unnecessary. Flowers, like women, can be perceived as soft, structured, vibrant, cheap, rare, elegant, bright, comforting…but mute, stationary, reliant, and temperamental. Flowers can inspire, but they cannot control what they can create. I also latched on to the femme and flower analogy because I wanted women to appreciate their unique beauty — to see themselves as a subject of admiration, to be taken care of, or to be acknowledged, a living thing that blossoms into whatever we were meant to become. 

Bruce Allen was brought on board through Michelle’s suggestion and familiarity with his work. His approach to fine art photography was completely appropriate for the provocative images we aimed to produce.

How did your perspective of Asian body image change, or not change, throughout the process?

My perspective of the Asian body definitely changed primarily because of Bruce’s presence on our creative team. Being an American heterosexual man of multiracial decent, provided another perception and understanding of the Asian female body. The image “Sideways” of the woman with an orchid placed on top of her vagina was inspired by his awareness of a common misconception of Asian women having sideways vaginas. It definitely caught me by surprise.

If there was one thing you wanted people to walk away with from this exhibition/magazine, what would it be?

I stated this in a follow-up post on social media. “Reflect, react, but never revert.” We must stay conscious of intention, delivery, and biases in any communication. We have no right answers because there are none, only a never-ending exploration. Treat people with respect. That will take us a long way. Anxiety, discomfort, and misinterpretation are bound to happen in conversations like these. But we can work through them together through patience and an open heart. I know that is definitely easier said than done.

I also wanted to bring this exhibition and magazine to life because Asian women need to be seen, recognized, represented, and acknowledged in the art world. They need to be seen as muses, models, but most importantly creators and artists. It was quite difficult to find Asian models while producing these photographs. It’s not popular for Asian women to be models, whether because it wasn’t an encouraged career choice, or there simply weren’t opportunities being given to them.