Fumi Amano

As a Japanese woman living in the United States, I often struggle with my attempts to communicate. Not only is English my second language, but also the stereotypes of Asian women make it difficult for me to build healthy relationships. I feel the impact of being minoritized is much more in America, where assumptions about Asians are both superficial and hurtful. At the same time, Asian ideals of womanhood and beauty have been affected by Western culture: the resulting twisted idea of beauty is internalized by Asian women, eating away at our identity and self-worth.

I make sculptures using mundane materials. Shapes of objects are constructed in a distorted manner to reflect the misunderstanding between people. I am trying to expose the absurdities of a manipulative social structure. Many of my sculptures have received awards from major institutions such as the Jule Collins Smith Art Museum in Alabama and Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh.

I have been encouraged to speak louder as an Asian artist since the racial equity movement has grown recently. Through my art, I would like to express the reality of being minoritized in this country. I challenge the tradition of the “silent Asian woman” to reveal the complexities that lie underneath the guise of the superficial “dream” of being an Asian woman.