Thanks, No Thanks, 2020

Speedball, handmade clay conversation hearts, foam beads, acrylic

11 x 8 x 7.5 in.

Artfields 2022 Second Place Jury Award

At first glance, the boxing speed-ball appears playful—sugary sweet, even, given the mosaic of clay conversation hearts that enfold it. But more serious currents flow beneath its eye-catching veneer. While its central refrains—“Thanks” and “No Thanks”—are some of the simplest expressions available to us, their almost obsessive repetition lends them an ambiguous force. To what are they responding? The work is part of a series that challenges cultural myths and false narratives contributing to the sexual violence against Southeast Asian women in contemporary America. And more broadly the work is a repeated call to stop Anti-Asian Hate.