A Love Letter

In my exhibition,” A Nation can rise no higher than its Woman”, I am not only speaking of women’s struggles and strengths in today’s society and culture, I also wanted to express feminine energy and challenge the viewer to define or “redefine” feminine energy. One of my pieces from this exhibition, called “Womb” expresses this concept. With today’s media and its usage of women’s body and sexuality and play on androgyny for entertainment, advertisement, and various gains and profits, feminine energy have been reduced to various means of pleasure and looked at in such a elementary barbaric way. I wanted to remind the viewer of not only the difference of being a man and woman, but also the characteristics of feminine energy. And how those very characteristics that is in the nature of women, maintain society itself.

Each surah (chapter) of the Qur’an begins with Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim, which means “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.” Rahman speaks to the fundamental beneficence inherent in the divine nature, Rahim to the particular mercy that manifests. Both words come from the same root, which is the word for “womb.” God’s mercy and benevolence is always emphasized as being greater than His wrath; the encompassing generosity and nurturance of the divine as the foundation in which we live.

When we think of feminine energy, I wanted to challenge the viewers to think of the attributes that are mentioned in the surah in the Quran or even qualities when we think of the word ‘womb’. When painting this piece, I was thinking of the qualities of mercy, compassion, creative, giving, tenderness, grace, soft heartedness, sympathy, humanity and forbearance. I wanted to go beyond biology or the physical form and redefine ‘feminine energy’ and the essence of it that is in each of all of us. And then return to the point of today’s perception of what ‘feminine energy’ and that it is something that is not “weak”, and softness can actually be strength. The softness of mercy, the strength of the feminine is actually an energy that allows the world to continue and maintain itself as we continue to make mistakes and go through trials and challenges.

In this piece, I wanted to convey the attributes of feminine energy, beyond form. It is not for the viewer to easily identify, but instead what the viewer sensed. I visualize the darkness of a woman’s womb as the darkness in space and out of this darkness there is light. This is how I see feminine energy in today’s world. Set in an environment that is harsh, dark and is void of the very essence of what it is, feminine energy maintains itself and creates life, the very strength that allows all of us to continue.

More Love letters to come from the rest of the paintings from my exhibition. Inshallah.

With Love,

Eileen

(in Cantonese)

Me: Grandma, did you remember the times when the Japanese were in China?

Grandma: Oh Eileen, it was so tragic, so terrible, so sad, you cant even imagine..

Me: What did you remember?

Grandma: They killed so many people Eileen, dead bodies everywhere..I was just a little girl then, everyone was running, trying to escape, everyone was yelling that the Japanese were coming. I was running back home, everyone was gone when I got to the house. I ran into the hills crying and yelling for my Mom. For hours, I was crying. Then I saw my cousin and she brought me to where my Mom was. Eileen, they would gather men and forced them to dig big holes in the ground. When they were finished, the Japanese shot them in the head from behind. They were forcing them to dig their own graves. So many people died, women were disappearing. The Japanese randomly grabbed any girl and raped them, tortured  and killed them. Your great Aunt, was raped for days, and when she died they tossed her into the river that was filled with bodies….so tragic Eileen, you have no idea…

On December 13, 1937 the Japanese capture the city of Nanjing the former capital of the Republic of China. This six week capture resulted in a mass murder, genocide and war rape. 300,000 Chinese lives were perished during the massive slaughter. 80,000 women were raped, including infants and the elderly.  The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources.

After being taken captive from their own homes, women were ofter killed immediately after gang raped, often through mutilation or by stabbing a bayonet, bamboo or other objects into the vagina. Young girls were cut open to allow Japanese soldiers to rape them.There are also accounts of Japanese troops forcing families to commit acts of incest. Sons were forced to rape their mothers, fathers were forced to rape daughters. Monks who had declared a life of celibacy were also forced to rape women. Pregnant women were often stabbed by bayonet and fetuses were tossed out to the side. Thousands were led away and mass-executed in an excavation known as the “Ten-Thousand-Corpse Ditch”, a trench measuring about 300m long and 5m wide.

Denial of the massacre has been the staple of Japanese nationalism. Various aspects of the Nanjing massacre have been disputed by Japanese nationalists, who have claimed that the event has been either exaggerated or fabricated for propaganda purposes. It is upsetting to me to have discovered that while I was working on this painting, discussions with others on this event have been mainly unknown. I assume the relationship and the alliance between the United States and Japan shortly after World War II has something to do with why the Nanjing Massacre is unknown to the western world and how it was “swept under the rug”.

During war and armed conflict, rape is frequently used as means of psychological warfare in order to humiliate the enemy and undermine their morale. Military leaders actually encourage their soldiers to rape civilians. War rape may occur in a variety of situations, including institutionalised sexual slavery, war rapes associated with specific battles or massacres, and individual or isolated acts of sexual violence. War rape may also include gang rape and rape with objects. Humanitarian law concerns the maltreatment of civilians and “any devastation not justified by military necessity”. War rape has rarely been prosecuted as a war crime. It was not until 2001 when a confirmed verdict by the International Criminal Tribune for the former Yugoslavia that rape and sexual enslavement are crimes against humanity.  Specifically, it was recognised that Muslim women in southeastern Bosnia were subjected to systematic and widespread gang rape, torture and sexual enslavement by Bosnian Serb soldiers, policemen, and members of paramilitary groups after the takeover of the city in April 1992.

The original inspiration for this painting was the ‘Cheongsam’ or ‘Qipao’ which is the traditional Chinese long dress. Inspired by its beauty, cultural value and the evolution of the Chinese feminine expression, I decided to study about the women that wore it during these times. In every inspiration that flows to me, it transforms into a passion of research and study. In my study, I have come to a tragic time in human history that is still relatively unknown to the western world. A tragic story that is rooted in my homeland and still lies painfully in the memory of my family. The ‘Cheongsam’ now represents to me much more than a beautifully made dress. It signifies, the damage and scars Chinese women still bears, the lives lost and the strength of those that still fight to heal, war and the terror against women, but most of all the courage to stand on truth. I hope in my painting, you will learn of a story about a Chinese woman. I hope you will learn about her strength, her love of her culture as she maintains her family, her evolution in her expression as a woman as she have fought and survived through war, her undeniable courage and spirit, in despite of her quiet serenity among the noise that still fights to silence her.

This painting is also a tribute to the author of The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, Iris Chang. This book describes the Nanjing Massacre and the atrocities that were committed. She also addresses the issue of the Japanese government not doing enough to redress the atrocities. She was well respected in China for raising awareness of the Nanking Massacre in the Western world. However, she received hate mail mainly from Japanese ultranationalists, threatening notes on her car and she believed her phone was tapped. Suffering from depression, Iris was diagnosed with “brief reactive psychosis” in August 2004. Her battle from depression came to an end in November 2004, when she took her own life.

Any from of acknowledgement, recognition, validation of truth or atonement from the Japanese government is of small importance and incomparable to the tremble in my grandmother voice, the pain that still exists as she recalls her memory as a young girl. There is nothing more close to the truth than that.

I know its been awhile since I posted new work of my paintings. I have been on a valuable journey that I am so blessed and grateful to be on. A journey that I feel is so important to those that call themselves, artist. Building knowledge of Self is work that requires time, alot of patience and more than anything, faith. Building a relationship with your inner Self and the Creator reveals your own voice that uniquely nourishes your creative expression. Truly, I can only say, that I am so blessed.

As a woman that expresses herself in color, I am intrigued with how women of different cultures express their femininity. Living in a society where the extent of what and why a woman wears what she wears, doesn’t go beyond the pages of celebrity filled magazines and trends dictated by blogs and designers, I am interested in something deeper.. something of cultural value and expression when it comes to femininity.

This is a painting of a woman from the Ndebele tribe of South Africa and a Padaung woman in Northern Thailand. ‘Padaung’ is a term for ‘the group whose woman wears the brass neck coils’. Both of these women wear neck rings for the purpose of cultural identity and pride.

Padaung women in Burma have suffered opression at the hands of success regimes of that country for decades. Forced resettlement and labor, incarceration, denial of political representation and citizenship status rights among other human violations have led thousands of Padaung women to move into Thailand. There are many explanations as to the origin of the tradition of neck rings, but its mainly for the purpose of aesthetic value. The beauty and grace of a long neck is exemplified by the heavy neck ring depicting both wealth and beauty. With their suffering reality, wearing the neck rings reaches beyond the purpose of beauty but a feminine expression that embodies cultural pride and strength in unity.

Ndebele women are well known for their artistic talent, especially with regard to their painted house and colorful beadwork. Multicolor wall paintings are painted by using their fingers. Same patterns and designs can be recognized on their aprons. In early history, patterns are believed to have sacred powers and to have been made in response to demands by ancestors. Also like the Padaung women, owing to the difficult circumstances of their people, the paintings became an expression of both cultural resistance and continuity.

Each unique pattern of each household were created but the woman of the household.. It represented long family traditions and pride. They become a communication system that “speak” to the families conveying self identity, personal prayers, values and emotions. “Through her paintings the artist is saying that she is a good Ndebele wife who keeps proper and well decorated home.” This traditional duty allowed transfer of patterns strategies from mother to daughter.

I truly believe, we as women in American society have alot to learn from these women. I throughly enjoyed this project and expressing with vivid colors that embodies the spirit and strength of their culture. I wanted to portray a different definition of beauty shared by these two women.

There is a common thread running through the Ndebele and Paduang woman that goes beyond the tradition of neck rings, aesthetics, trends, and even culture. It is a common spirit.. a feminine spirit that maintains, grows, evolves on many levels submerged in the harshest conditions and thrives in an environment that doesnt protect them.

We must remember how we are all interconnected. One’s struggle is all of our struggle, their victory is our victory… One spirit. One memory. Love. Now thats revolutionary.

LEI

This painting I created is a tribute to Ms. Sade Adu. Her gift of music has truly touched me. Her latest album, Soldier of Love was released at a very pivotal time in my life. She guides me with her song and this piece is a symbol of part of my Story, a Love Letter. Never underestimate the strength of a woman. Her Love may be reckless and fail, but it evolves and its the same passion that continues still with strength, even in the darkest hour.

In a world made of concrete and prison walls, blessed be the woman to be able to flow through it all with gentle femininty.

(more…)

some inspires just from their energy and light they omit from their passion and love. I was inspired by this individual’s light.. so i painted what i saw.

“Energy”
watercolor and acryllic 11×15

I write my poems out in paintings.