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Julia Kwon, Unapologetically Asian, 2020, Korean silk, cotton canvas, muslin, elastic, folded with elastic loops: 5 3⁄4 x 7 3⁄4 x 3⁄4 in. flat with elastic: 5 1⁄2 x 13 1⁄2 x 1 5⁄8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2021.1, © 2020, Julia Kwon
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Unapologetically Asian
- Artist
- Date
- 2020
- Location
- Dimensions
- folded with elastic loops: 5 3⁄4 x 7 3⁄4 x 3⁄4 in. flat with elastic: 5 1⁄2 x 13 1⁄2 x 1 5⁄8 in.
- Copyright
- © 2020, Julia Kwon
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund
- Mediums Description
- Korean silk, cotton canvas, muslin, elastic
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Dress — accessory
- Asian
- Object Number
- 2021.1
Artwork Description
Julia Kwon created this face mask using bojagi, a Korean style of patchwork. As a Korean American textile artist from Northern Virginia, her work explores notions of gender and identity. She made the Unapologetically Asian masks in response to anti-Asian racism and violence during the pandemic.
“I became deeply aware of how I may be misperceived not only as a perpetual foreigner, but, now during this pandemic, also as a carrier or cause of the COVID-19 virus. I felt tired and frustrated by the pressures to exist quietly and invisibly. So, I decided to create vibrant Korean patchwork face masks to unapologetically celebrate my ethnic identity.” —Julia Kwon
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022
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