Healing Our Wounds: part 1

Racism and discrimination is a concept we're yet to truly understand. With access to social media and the internet, we can all see these horrific events happening before our very eyes. The Black Lives Matter Movement brought like minded individuals to stand against racism, but it also grouped like minded individuals of the opposing. With all the hurt and lives lost, it seems as though nothing is really changing. With Covid-19, the rise in Asian-Hate crimes has been more apparent. From what I've seen, it's coming from all sides. Including our POC (people of colour)Community. I want to bring awareness to the ongoing issues of racism. Because this issue is more than just a 'one

race vs the other', I would like to start with one group within the POC community first. My community, the Asian Community. I hope to continue this project in parts in the following years and cover every area related to this issue. Every race, every culture, every gender, within different nationalities.

Part 1 starts with the Asian community. I contacted some people I knew that have experienced racism or some sort of discrimination within the Asian community and outside of the Asian community. 3 people were open to being a part of this project and sharing their personal stories.

I will be creating 3 silicone bodies that represent these 3 women. These bodies will be painted, colour matched as best as possible to their skin tones. Each body will have a red silicone heart pertruding out of their chest. This is connected to the saying,"wear your heart on your sleeve" as these women will be sharing there personal stories. Each body will have intestines hanging out of their stomachs. The instestines will be made of fabric, either a cultural fabric or possibly the flag of their backgrounds. These bodies will be displayed side by side and under each one will be a QR code that will lead the viewer to a page that shows each individual's photo, name, age, ethnicity and nationality. There will be a 'play button' that allows the viewer to listen to their stories while observing the silicone bodies. The page will also include a written version for those non-hearing or hard of hearing.