janet wang

In residence: 2018, 2019

My current research examines patterns of migration around coastlines, the sociopolitical narratives around the Chinese diaspora, and the hyphenated identity of Chinese-Canadians. The hyphen is a tenuous site that we occupy, a line that shifts and moves with the tide, a marker that is both a limit and an opening. 

I began with examining the speculative nature of migration, the patterns found in the histories of labour, movement and settling that has occurred along coastlines that causes us to look at who has privilege, and who does not.  The coastline represents a limit that is constantly in flux, evolving and shifting in response to industry and development.

My research at Coppermoss is leading me deeper into the identity politics around the Chinese diaspora, and the tensions around the hyphenated identity of Chinese-Canadians. The hyphen is the tenuous site that I occupy, a line that shifts and moves with the tide, a marker that is a limit and an opening.  

Artist Statement: This work began at the Coppermoss Artist Residency while wandering along the coast and Smuggler’s Cove.  I have created an edition of 9 Waves prints on mulberry paper, which will be displayed as a panorama.  The figurative drawings, loosely based on historical works such as Friedrich’s The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog and Millais’ The Gleaners, will be layered on and floated on top of the panorama. 

Janet Wang is a visual artist working within a traditional painting practice, integrated with sculptural installation practices and digital media.  She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia and her Master of Arts in Studio Practice from the University of Leeds in England. Her work explores the construction of identity through the appropriation and disruption of social patterns and familiar gestures.  The artist borrows heavily from the canons and traditions of history, both the artistic and the quotidian, in order to use the familiar as a meeting point with the viewer.