Ancestral Traumas
Artist Statement
This work is an exploration of my childhood and the traumas that built the structure of my being. My subjects are my family members and I staged them around our long time home and neighborhood. These black and white photos depict children to show the innocence of a child as they try to figure out the world and social constructs around them. Being a first generation biracial queer woman, I was extremely confused growing up. Not knowing who I was or where I belonged, the color of my skin, the languages I spoke, the curves of my body weighed on me. Never being good enough for America nor for my ancestors. I was othered by not being pure enough, by being too different, yet I hold the traumas passed down generation to generation. These photographs represent my confusion, pain, and isolation as a child being raised by immigrant parents that came from opposite sides of the world.
Houyee Chow (She / her)
Houyee is a queer biracial multidisciplinary artist and educator from San Jose, CA. She earned her bachelor's degree at San Francisco State University in Studio Art with a minor in Philosophy. During the day, she works at a nonprofit as a youth art educator. Houyee dedicates her evenings and weekends working on her artwork which addresses social justice, gender inequality, racial justice, LGBTQ+ experiences, climate crisis, life, and mental health all mixed in with healing from her own traumas. She uses painting, photography, and installation to illustrate her experience of being queer and mixed race growing up in America. Her work is inspired by life and the lived experience.