Asian American Portraits
This is a spontaneous project in reaction to the 1900% increase in hate crimes in 2020 against Asian Americans, and more specifically, against elderly Asian Americans. This is attributable to one US president who insidiously and repeatedly proclaimed this pandemic is caused by a “Chinese virus” and a green light for violence appears to have been lite. This has struck a painful chord in Asian American communities as we see our elderlies get seriously injured or killed while taking a neighborhood walk or a pregnant woman getting punched. Yet, the mainstream media gave little coverage. This is all because the victims are Asians - the invisible Americans who are forever seen as perpetual foreigners.
I decided to paint Americans of Asian descent to share who we are as Americans and as humans. We have always been around - working, creating, doing great and bold things, and living and experiencing life here in America. I am starting with the Chinese Americans who I know personally or whose existence impacts my thinking.
*More paintings will be added to this ongoing project.
**Suggestions on which significant Asian American I should consider painting are welcomed. Please email me at artistsiyanwong@gmail.com.
TurboVax
With no fanfare, Huge Ma created www.turbovax.com with the goal of helping others to find available vaccines after his own frustrations in getting an appointment for his mother. His inspiration, a total cost of $50, ended up being the go-to site for New Yorkers to find their appointments. His website received over one million visitors daily and he achieved over 80,000 twitter followers in days. One twitter follower said: “Huge represents what is great about New York.”
In late February 2021, Ma temporarily suspended TurboVax in protest at hate crimes against Asian Americans.
“Asian Americans have always had to prove themselves as American enough and it is a burden that we carry everywhere … the attacks that have really spiked over the past few months, especially targeting the elderly and Asian businesses is extremely discouraging,” said Ma.
TurboVax, 2021, oil on canvas, 16H x 20W x .67D
COVID Doctor
A proud husband posted a picture of his doctor wife just when cases in NYC were spiraling out of control and hospitals were inundated with severe cases and not enough beds. It was also the time when Trump deflected his incompetence by blaming the Chinese, saying COVID was the “Chinese Virus.” Deadly assaults on Asians, especially the elderly, followed. Data from 2017 shows that 21.1% of Doctors in the USA were Asians. So while Asian doctors and nurses were risking their lives saving people of all races, the entire Asian community was under attack for being Chinese. It’s a moment of awakening for the community that racism runs deep in this country. In painting this doctor, I wished she was safe, found time for rest and moments to play with her young children.
Covid Doctor, 2020, oil on canvas, 16H x 20W x .67D
Andrew Yang
The son of immigrants from Taiwan, Yang was born and raised in New York. He ran for president in 2020 and brought to the American public the long forgotten concept of universal basic income. Although he lost his bid for president, his campaign inspired Asian Americans to consider politics.
Andrew Yang, 2021, oil on canvas, 16H x 20W x .67D, Sold
Corky Lee
This is painted in memory of Corky Lee, the UnOfficial Asian American Photographer Laureate who passed away due to COVID-19 on January 27, 2021. He will always be remembered as an artist who was true to his passion of photographing a people so as to record what mainstream often ignored or misrepresented. For that, he embodied the American spirit and the vision of an artist. His spirit and work live on.
Corky Lee, 2021, oil on canvas, 16H x 20W x .67D
Peter Kwong
Peter Kwong is a professor and an activist for justice. When he passed away four years ago, on March 17, 2017, scholars and community activists alike took a pause to absorb the pain. He was a journalist and a scholar who spent time with the people he wrote about - he truly cared about how his work affects people's lives. Since his passing, there feels like a void because no other scholars have given voice like he did to the struggles of Chinese immigrant working class and put in context their experiences in world events. I hope young scholars find in themselves the same curiosity and persistence in writing about the experiences of the working poor in our community. Here is a video of one of his talks.
Peter Kwong, 2021, oil on canvas, 20H x 16W x .67D
Familiar Stranger
"Familiar Stranger" is a portrait painting of a woman who I saw in the Lower East Side a few years ago. Her hands were each holding a bag filled with bottles and cans. Her eyes shot back at me with fear and wonder. That look imprinted in my memory a woman who tries to survive but lives with uncertainty everyday. I don't know how she "lives" - what can she buy at five cents a can/bottle?
Familiar Stranger, 2021, oil on canvas, 20H x 16W x .67D