Duality

Smoke and embers fill the air, the lingering scent of petrol was enough to make eyes water. In the chaos, two stand together as a united front to face the challenges that lie ahead.

This is very recent personal work I did called “Duality”. It speaks to my dual identity as a Chinese American. I’ve struggled with my own identity since I was little not knowing if I should identify as Chinese or American. The answer of saying I should view myself as both seems to be obvious, but it wasn’t. My Asian looks were a subject that came up often enough with my Caucasian friends that I thought maybe I should view myself as Chinese. Talking to the Asian community, many would tell me I’m not actually Chinese for not growing up in the culture, which lead me to think, well then I’m not Chinese. As a young adult I have come to accept both are a part of me, but growing up this wasn’t obvious for one reason or another.

My point in bringing this up is that culture, and how it relates to your identity can be a difficult topic. I hope anyone out there still struggling with their identity as it relates to their culture (or cultures) knows that you’re not alone.