Sophie Chao

This work reconfigures a space for Asian femininity within the common tropes that permeate Western media. Rather than depicting fear of the beast or dragon, the central figure is shown crushing it beneath a comically oversized hammer. Through exaggerated, cartoonish displays of violence, the work reimagines how Asian femininity is often exoticized or demanded within the familiar tropes of classic American genres. Her body is contorted in a distinctly unfeminine manner, and rather than cowering in fear, her overt display of slapstick violence evokes the visual language of 1940s American television.