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Tiger Rising - Dona Park

Digital Media
20”x 20”
Prints Available:
10×10 – $50
20×20 -$80 

Artist Statement:
A majority of Korean folk art depicts the tiger, an animal common in the past, but difficult to find today. It’s a symbol of regality, with its stoic posture, but simultaneously feared for its power. The
peony too, exists in Korean art, but only reserved for royalty. It also denotes peace and stability.

I wanted to create a piece that pays homage to my roots, but also use these symbolisms to embody my own Asian experience in the context of my immigrant history in North America.
From reading the history of the xenophobic “yellow peril” to the anti Asian sentiment in the context of COVID-19, it is almost impossible not to internalize the fear and hatred towards a
community that I am a part of.

My heritage is powerful, rooted in the strength of grandmothers and aunties and mothers, my monolids, eye shape, and skin colour is gorgeous, and the way I’ve fused my words and pronunciations are creative, to the point I have created my own dictionary. To other Asian diasporas from East Asia, South East Asia, and South Asia, including myself, this is a bittersweet reminder that we have an unfathomable cultural history that stretches out to the eons, where there is a tiger in all of us to remind us of our rich roots.