An ongoing exhibit that explores what it means to be Asian American and Pacific Islander has come to a Pioneer Square gallery in Seattle.
Seattle artist Rya Wu created the show – called "Have you eaten?" – last year. Wu put out a call for submissions for art that explores the meaning of home. Nino Yuniardi was one of the artists whose work was accepted.
"My family always ask about, have you eaten? Instead of saying, I love you," Yuniardi said. "And to me, that speaks deeply to me and my experience as Asian American or Asian."
Yuniardi’s piece is an abstract painting entitled ‘Chocolate Strawberry with Wasabi,’ bringing together ingredients you wouldn’t expect to see together. It's supposed to reflect the awkwardness of feeling like you don't belong somewhere.
Wu says over 30 artists are featured in the show. And that despite the title of the exhibit, it isn’t just about food. It’s about the larger theme of what home means to people. And food just happens to be what a lot of people think about. But Wu points out some of the non-food-related works.
"There's this video installation by Kevin who is really trying to comment on the sort of like, the pervasive use of Asian service workers while putting them down and making them such an invisible demographic here," Wu said. "And his mother working as a nail technician her whole life, it's sort of an ode to her as well."
Other works in the show include an outfit exploring what it means to be queer and Asian and another that uses AI to create an endless poem displayed on a digital screen.
"Have you eaten?" runs through the end of the month. This weekend, the gallery will host a talking circle with a tea ceremony that’s free and open to the public. Wu hopes to bring the show to other cities in the future, like L.A. or maybe St. Louis.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
