Television Girl

erika wang (she/her)

This illustration is inspired by media consumption and how it influences self-image. It explores questions of who decides what we consume and who benefits from our consumption. Through my art, I hope to promote discourse regarding media consumption and tech capitalism.

ruby wang (she/they)

Ruby Wang is a multimedia artist pursuing a double major in English and Visual Arts at Duke. They create meditative and peaceful art that reflects insightful conversations, identity (in reference to intersectionality and being a queer Asian woman), and other pieces of media. She experiments with what is “realistic” and possible by deconstructing what seems “real” and reinterpreting how the world works. For instance, how do others understand their relationships? How can intimacy be visually understood? Additionally, what is self-image and self-perception beyond the way we look like? Their introspective works consider these questions, utilizing imagination to answer them.

This piece is based on various Asian American plays upon taking Asian American Theater through the AADS program at Duke. The pieces depicted in this piece include: Flipzoid by Ralph B. Pena, M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven by Young Jean Lee, Porcelain by Chay Yew, and China Doll by Elizabeth Wong. Content and motifs vary across all plays, but there are consistent themes on identity, immigrant status, intersectionality with sexuality, and national abjection. The playwrights experiment with the concept of “identity”, particularly the exoticism of Orientalism imposed upon Asian Americans. Through their plays, writers are given a chance to dramatize and critique stereotypes, while also being granted the voice and agency to reconstruct themselves.