Jane Wong’s poems and essays unearth silenced histories, immigrant
narratives, and intergenerational trauma. The Seattle-based writer’s
recent projects consider the social, historical, and political
contexts that “haunt” the work of contemporary Asian American
poets. For her first museum solo exhibition, Wong draws inspiration
from her upbringing in a Chinese American restaurant in New Jersey as
well as her family’s experience of hunger and poverty in rural China
to consider the ways we reconcile the gaps in our lives and histories.
Seeking to honor her family, ancestors, loved ones, and all that
sustains life in an otherwise fraught world through writing, Wong
implores us to become more attuned to our shared histories. As the
final lines of the exhibition’s title poem ask, “Tell us, little
girl, are you/ hungry, awake, astonished enough?” Jane Wong received
the 2017 James W. Ray Distinguished Artist Award, which is funded by
the Raynier Institute & Foundation through the Frye Art Museum |
Artist Trust Consortium. The award supports and advances the creative
work of outstanding artists living and working in Washington State and
culminates in a presentation at the Frye Art Museum.
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28/08/2019 Last update