Cindy Leung ( She/her )

Using Chinese exports―silk, tea, and porcelain as a point of entry, I create materially hybrid objects primarily out of these materials to explore how objects and people come together , through the complex relationship between consumerism, colonization, and cultural hybridity. These materials were historically associated with the British colonization in China since they originated in the East, and were popularized in the West through trading and wars. I consider these materials being a part of my identity, given that I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I pair these materially hybrid objects with poems that explore the different weights of words in both Chinese and English languages. The pairing reflects my bilingual education, as well as the code-switching skill that many bilingual people share. The recent expansion of my materials include the use of shipping peanuts, foam, glass, and fiber. In the process of assembling the hybrid objects with these new materials, I realize the meaning of the work has migrated from identity work into a realm where I explore how people cultivate a sense of togetherness through transportation. Such exploration aims to further develop my understanding on how humanity is identified through socialization. Working with ceramics and other materials led me into the expanded field, in which I get to embed meanings in my hybrid objects by working with the history of the materials.

Cindy Leung calls many places home. Home is a borrowed place on borrowed time for her. Based on this experience, her work focuses on the exchange of languages in a post-colonial setting. By making hybrid objects with silk, tea and porcelain, she sees her work as a way to create a visual manifestation of the hybridity in her culture and languages. Leung holds an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL and a BFA from Queens College, CUNY in Queens, NY. She exhibited her work nationally and internationally including Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in China, the NCECA Juried Student Exhibition and Morean Art Center in Florida. Please visit www.cindyclsy.com for more details.